Effectiveness of short-form video on oral health promotion

Abstract

Statement of problem: To investigate the effectiveness of short-form video (SFV) on oral health promotion. Objectives of the study: To investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of SFV on oral health education delivery; to explore the impact of SFV on oral hygiene practice; to evaluate how SFV motivates young adults to explore more on oral health issues. Methods and materials: A questionnaire-based online survey with 2 weeks follow-up phone calls was carried out, non-dental students from the University of Hong Kong were invited to participate in our study. Two SFV featuring periodontal health and excessive drinking and vomiting were created. Participants were asked to answer knowledge questions about these topics before and after watching the SFV. Participants’ profiles and comments on the SFV were also collected. A follow-up review 2 weeks after the completion of the questionnaire was carried out by phone calls to investigate the change in oral hygiene habits among the participants and whether they had further explorations on dental topics. Results: In total, 419 students participated in the survey and 291 valid responses were collected. Respondents generally had some misconceptions about the topics before watching the SFV, with relatively low median knowledge scores (7-8 out of 12). After watching the SFV, significant increase in median knowledge scores to 10-11 were found (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p<0.001). Females, postgraduates and those with interdental cleaning habits were found to have a higher knowledge level of the related dental topics of the SFV. More than two-thirds of the respondents showed a positive attitude towards the SFV in terms of the attractiveness and content of the videos. The follow-up phone call showed 43.1% of respondents showed positive changes in oral hygiene habits and 27.5% explored further in dental topics. Conclusions: SFV are effective for oral health promotion and oral health education delivery. Watching SFV led to oral hygiene habit changes in some of the participants and motivated a quarter of interviewees to explore more on oral health.