Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, Novi Sad, 21000, Serbia.
Dentistry Clinic of Vojvodina, Hajduk Veljkova 12, Novi Sad, 21000, Serbia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Nov 30;24(1):3348. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20884-0.
Considering the widespread use of social media, it is unsurprising that dentists are increasingly drawn to these platforms as a means of connecting with patients and sharing valuable insights. The aim of this research is to examine the influence of social media on the selection of dentists among residents of the Vojvodina province in the Republic of Serbia.
This cross-sectional study surveyed residents of Vojvodina, Serbia, aged 18 years and above, with an account on at least one social media platform. Dentists and dental students were excluded. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: sociodemographic information, social media usage habits, and the influence of social media on the selection of dentist/dental clinic. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared test were used for categorical variables. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and the decision to select a dentist based on social media presence.
In this study, 983 participants were involved, with the majority being female (79.5%) and aged between 18 and 25 years (46.7%). Over half of the respondents (60.3%) stated that they would not select dentists based on their social media profiles, with a significant difference across age groups (p < 0.001). The main advantage of social media was quick access to information (67.2%), while disadvantages included the promotion of harmful trends (62.4%) and concerns about credibility (55.4%). Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that age (95% CI: 1.144-2.983; p < 0.001) and educational level (95% CI: 0.472-0.891; p < 0.05) were significant predictors for selecting dentists based on their social media presence.
Social networks do not play a crucial role in selection of a dentist among the residents of Vojvodina. Age and educational level were significant predictors for selecting dentists based on their social media presence.
考虑到社交媒体的广泛使用，牙医越来越倾向于将这些平台作为与患者联系和分享有价值见解的一种方式，这并不奇怪。本研究旨在探讨社交媒体对塞尔维亚伏伊伏丁那省居民选择牙医的影响。
这是一项横断面研究，调查了塞尔维亚伏伊伏丁那省年龄在 18 岁及以上、至少在一个社交媒体平台上有账户的居民。排除牙医和牙科学生。问卷分为三部分：社会人口统计学信息、社交媒体使用习惯以及社交媒体对选择牙医/牙科诊所的影响。采用描述性统计和卡方检验进行分类变量分析。采用二元逻辑回归分析确定社会人口统计学特征与基于社交媒体选择牙医的决策之间的关联。
本研究共纳入 983 名参与者，其中大多数为女性（79.5%），年龄在 18 至 25 岁之间（46.7%）。超过一半的受访者（60.3%）表示不会根据社交媒体个人资料选择牙医，不同年龄组之间存在显著差异（p<0.001）。社交媒体的主要优势是快速获取信息（67.2%），而缺点包括促进有害趋势（62.4%）和对可信度的担忧（55.4%）。二元逻辑回归分析显示，年龄（95%置信区间：1.144-2.983；p<0.001）和教育水平（95%置信区间：0.472-0.891；p<0.05）是基于社交媒体选择牙医的重要预测因素。
在伏伊伏丁那省居民中，社交网络在选择牙医方面并没有起到关键作用。年龄和教育水平是基于社交媒体选择牙医的重要预测因素。
