Department of Preclinical Dentistry, School of Biomedical Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
BMC Oral Health. 2023 Jun 6;23(1):365. doi: 10.1186/s12903-023-03078-9.
Recent years have seen an increase in the use of social media, by the healthcare sector, including dentistry. Indeed, social media may now be important communication tools for dental practices and patients. This work analyzes the influence of patient (male and female) use of dental practice social media on their decision to change practice. The results also provide insight into the factors patients considered important when choosing a dental practice.
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidad Europea de Madrid (No. CIPI/22.022). Using a web-based questionnaire, a cross-sectional study was undertaken involving a Spanish population that made use of dental services. The questionnaire consisted of four parts covering provision of informed consent, the collection of sociodemographic data, patient use of dental practice social media, and the factors considered important when changing dental practice.
All participants gave their informed consent regarding inclusion. No compensation was provided for participation. 588 people responded to the questionnaire, of whom 503 were eligible for inclusion. Most respondents were female (312/503; 62%). Most (151/503; 30%) last changed dental practice during the previous 2-5 years. 208/503 (41.4%) indicated that they had visited dental practice social media. 118/503 (23.5%) indicated that they had made use of such the last time they changed dental practice; 102 of these 118 (85.6%) reported their experience to have influenced their decision to change. Respondents who had changed practice in the last 5 years had interacted with dental practice social media more than those who changed over 11 years ago (p < .05), and those who changed practice in the present/past year were more influenced by these media (p < .05). The factor considered most important was 'Facilities and technology'. No gender-based differences were seen for any measured variable (p < .05).
Different factors affect the selection of a new dental practice, but respondents who changed practice in the last few years were more likely to have made use of dental practice social media, which, for some, influenced their final decision to change. Dental practices might do well to consider using social media as communication and marketing tools.
近年来，包括牙科在内的医疗保健领域越来越多地使用社交媒体。事实上，社交媒体现在可能是牙科诊所和患者的重要沟通工具。这项工作分析了患者（男性和女性）使用牙科实践社交媒体对他们改变实践的决策的影响。结果还提供了患者在选择牙科诊所时考虑的重要因素的见解。
本研究得到了马德里欧洲大学伦理委员会的批准（编号 CIPI/22.022）。使用基于网络的问卷，进行了一项横断面研究，涉及使用牙科服务的西班牙人群。问卷包括四个部分，涵盖了知情同意的提供、社会人口数据的收集、患者使用牙科实践社交媒体以及改变牙科实践时考虑的重要因素。
所有参与者都同意参与并提供了知情同意。参与没有任何补偿。共有 588 人回答了问卷，其中 503 人符合纳入标准。大多数受访者为女性（312/503；62%）。大多数（151/503；30%）人在上次 2-5 年内最后一次更换牙科诊所。503 人中的 208 人（41.4%）表示他们访问过牙科实践社交媒体。118/503（23.5%）人表示他们在上次更换牙科诊所时曾使用过此类社交媒体；在这 118 人中，有 102 人（85.6%）表示他们的经历影响了他们更换的决定。在过去 5 年内更换过诊所的受访者比 11 年前更换过的受访者更频繁地与牙科实践社交媒体互动（p<.05），而在过去/现在一年更换过诊所的受访者受到这些媒体的影响更大（p<.05）。被认为最重要的因素是“设施和技术”。对于任何测量变量，都没有观察到基于性别的差异（p<.05）。
不同的因素会影响新牙科诊所的选择，但在过去几年内更换过诊所的受访者更有可能使用牙科实践社交媒体，这对一些人来说影响了他们最终更换的决定。牙科诊所可能会很好地考虑使用社交媒体作为沟通和营销工具。
