Application of Social Media as a Supporting Tool in the Teaching and Learning Process of Dentistry Students

Official title

The Use of Social Media as an Auxiliary Tool in the Teaching-learning Process of Dental Students

Overview

This study aims to explore dental students' perceptions of the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in supporting the teaching and learning process, particularly within the university setting. It seeks to identify gaps at the interface between information gathering, education, and ICT, providing valuable insights into students' awareness and acceptance of the content they access. The findings are expected to contribute to optimizing the use of ICT as an educational support tool, strengthening the curriculum, and preparing future dentists to better understand the interaction between ICT and teaching. Ultimately, this will help foster a generation of more qualified professionals.

Detailed description

The sample will consist of 90 undergraduate students from the School of Dentistry at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), aged 18 years or older, who are regularly enrolled in the Dental Radiology course.

Recruitment will take place during the course sessions, through announcements made by the course instructors. The research team will only have access to participants' data after the student voluntarily makes contact and provides their information. All students who express interest and meet the inclusion criteria will be enrolled as volunteers.

Participants will be fully informed about the objectives and procedures of the study and will sign the Informed Consent Form (ICF). Each volunteer will receive a confidential identification number, which will be linked to their responses and will allow the exclusion of their data should they choose to withdraw from the study. Withdrawal may occur at any time, without any harm or disadvantage. In case of withdrawal, the participant need only notify the principal investigator, and their data will be excluded, ensuring the anonymity of all volunteers.

The results will not be presented individually, but only in aggregate form, without any identification of participants. All data collected will be accessible only to the principal investigator and the research team.

After signing the ICF, participants will be randomly allocated, by drawing lots, into three experimental groups:

Traditional Learning Group (n = 30): students undergoing the teaching-learning process without complementary content on social media; Passive Social Media Supplement Group (n = 30): students undergoing the teaching-learning process with complementary content on social media, consumed passively; Active Social Media Engagement Group (n = 30): students undergoing the teaching-learning process with complementary content through the production of audiovisual material, later shared on social media, representing active consumption.

The social media platform used will be the one identified as most frequently accessed by the students in a prior survey. The complementary digital material will cover topics from the Dental Radiology curriculum, including: intraoral radiographic techniques, radiographic processing, intraoral radiographic anatomy, and dental and periodontal alterations and lesions.

The content for G2 will be developed by students from G3, under the supervision of the course instructor and research team member (KLD). For G3, the materials will be produced and posted by the students themselves, after faculty review.

At the end of the activities, students' performance will be assessed through the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), composed of five stations simulating clinical situations, with predetermined criteria and timing for each task. The competencies to be assessed will include: a) radiographic techniques; b) dental numbering notation; c) radiographic anatomy; d) radiographic interpretation of caries/restorations; and e) radiographic periodontal diagnosis.

At no stage will individual results be disclosed to other students or to anyone outside the research team. All data will remain restricted to the principal investigator and the research team and will be presented only in aggregate and anonymized form.

Interventions

• Behavioral Traditional Learning
  All participants will have access to the conventional teaching-learning process (lecture-based classes). These theoretical classes will be delivered as part of the Dental Radiology course. During the semester, the topics covered will include intraoral radiographic techniques, radiographic processing, intraoral radiographic anatomy, and dental and periodontal alterations and lesions.
• Behavioral Passive Social Media
  The second group (Passive Social Media Supplement Group) will participate in the conventional teaching-learning process, supplemented by the passive consumption of educational content on social media, produced by the third group. The materials consumed will include the following content: intraoral radiographic techniques, radiographic processing, intraoral radiographic anatomy, and dental and periodontal alterations and lesions.
• Behavioral Active Social Media
  The third group (Active Social Media Engagement Group) will participate in the conventional teaching-learning process, supplemented by the creation of educational audiovisual materials, which will subsequently be shared on social media and accessed both by their own group and by the second group. The materials will cover the following topics: intraoral radiographic techniques, radiographic processing, intraoral radiographic anatomy, and dental and periodontal alterations and lesions.

Primary outcome measures

• Overall OSCE Score [Time frame: The assessment will be conducted at the end of each academic semester, specifically in the 15th week after the beginning of the semester, in accordance with the institution's academic calendar.]

Secondary outcome measures (5)

• Active Station Score [Time frame: The assessment will be conducted at the end of each academic semester, specifically in the 15th week after the beginning of the semester, in accordance with the institution's academic calendar.]
• First Passive Station Score [Time frame: The assessment will be conducted at the end of each academic semester, specifically in the 15th week after the beginning of the semester, in accordance with the institution's academic calendar.]
• Second Passive Station Score [Time frame: The assessment will be conducted at the end of each academic semester, specifically in the 15th week after the beginning of the semester, in accordance with the institution's academic calendar.]
• Third Passive Station Score [Time frame: The assessment will be conducted at the end of each academic semester, specifically in the 15th week after the beginning of the semester, in accordance with the institution's academic calendar.]
• Fourth Passive Station Score [Time frame: The assessment will be conducted at the end of each academic semester, specifically in the 15th week after the beginning of the semester, in accordance with the institution's academic calendar.]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Students aged 18 years or older, of any gender.
• Regular enrollment in the Dental Radiology course at the School of Dentistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora campus.
• Voluntary agreement to participate in the study, confirmed by signing the Informed Consent Form.

Exclusion criteria

• Students who report audiovisual discomfort when using smartphones or computers.
• Individuals who are not users of social media.
• Lack of internet access.
• Presence of medical or psychological contraindications to the use of electronic devices.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Other

Study locations

Brazil · 1 center

• Federal University of Juiz de Fora — Juiz de Fora

Publications

• Stellefson M, Paige SR, Chaney BH, Chaney JD. Evolving Role of Social Media in Health Promotion: Updated Responsibilities for Health Education Specialists. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Feb 12;17(4):1153. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17041153. PMID 32059561
• Soltanimehr E, Bahrampour E, Imani MM, Rahimi F, Almasi B, Moattari M. Effect of virtual versus traditional education on theoretical knowledge and reporting skills of dental students in radiographic interpretation of bony lesions of the jaw. BMC Med Educ. 2019 Jun 25;19(1):233. doi: 10.1186/s12909-019-1649-0. PMID 31238927
• Rajeh MT, Sembawa SN, Nassar AA, Al Hebshi SA, Aboalshamat KT, Badri MK. Social media as a learning tool: Dental students' perspectives. J Dent Educ. 2021 Apr;85(4):513-520. doi: 10.1002/jdd.12478. Epub 2020 Nov 20. PMID 33219515
• Neiva GF, Hasslen JA, Bompolaki D, Pugach-Gordon M, Wright W, Kumar SS. Social media in dental education: The need for institutional policies and content regulation. J Dent Educ. 2023 Oct;87(10):1476-1480. doi: 10.1002/jdd.13310. Epub 2023 Jul 7. No abstract available. PMID 37419870
• McAndrew M, Johnston AE. The role of social media in dental education. J Dent Educ. 2012 Nov;76(11):1474-81. PMID 23144483
• Latif MZ, Hussain I, Saeed R, Qureshi MA, Maqsood U. Use of Smart Phones and Social Media in Medical Education: Trends, Advantages, Challenges and Barriers. Acta Inform Med. 2019 Jun;27(2):133-138. doi: 10.5455/aim.2019.27.133-138. PMID 31452573
• Kumar V, Gadbury-Amyot CC. Predoctoral Curricular Revision for Dental Radiographic Interpretation Competence Based on OSCE Results. J Dent Educ. 2019 Oct;83(10):1233-1239. doi: 10.21815/JDE.019.112. Epub 2019 Jun 10. PMID 31182621
• Kenny P, Johnson IG. Social media use, attitudes, behaviours and perceptions of online professionalism amongst dental students. Br Dent J. 2016 Nov 18;221(10):651-655. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.864. PMID 27857111

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07184359 · CAAE: 74616923.5.0000.5147

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗