The : A cross-sectional survey of British Orthodontic Society members.

OBJECTIVE

To survey the opinion of British Orthodontic Society members on the .

DESIGN

Data collection involved an anonymous cross-sectional online SurveyMonkey™ questionnaire.

METHODS

An email invitation to complete the survey was sent to the 1842 members of the British Orthodontic Society on 9 June 2020 with a follow-up reminder on 15 July 2020. The invitation contained a brief description and online link to the questionnaire, which was active between 9 June and 9 August 2020. The 15-item questionnaire covered frequency of reading, preferred format, likes and dislikes, and what changes might improve the . Data were analysed for the membership as a whole using simple descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

In total, 310 individuals completed the questionnaire, representing a response rate of 17% with 74.2% (n = 230) reporting reading at least one article per issue. The most popular way of reading the (77.4%, n = 240) was through the distributed print copy. Overall, 63.6% (n=197) rated the as excellent and 35.2% (n = 109) as satisfactory, with only 1.3% (n = 4) responding that it was poor. The scientific and clinical articles were the most popular aspect of the and 90.3% (n = 280) of respondents felt the content was relevant to their current clinical practice. Respondents were also given the opportunity to make additional free-text comments; and themes that emerged included a wish for more clinical content, more online interaction with authors through webinars and continued professional development.

CONCLUSION

The is perceived as being relevant to current clinical practice by members of the British Orthodontic Society and has high-level satisfaction. There is a desire for more online interaction with the membership as part of its role within the society. However, the overall response rate was low and therefore a high risk of potential bias associated with this survey.