| Abstract [eng] |
Relevance of the problem. Social media has become an integral part of modern daily life. As society continues to modernize, the demand for easily accessible information on various oral health issues is also growing. Therefore, social media can serve as a tool for improving oral health, primarily by educating users about oral diseases and their prevention, and ultimately by increasing motivation to replace poor oral hygiene habits with healthier ones. Aim of the work. To evaluate the association between frequency of viewing oral health related content on social media and oral health knowledge, behaviours, and self-perceived oral health. Material and methods. This quantitative questionnaire-based study included a sample population that was formed using a convenience sampling method and composed of adult members from two selected “Facebook” groups. According to the sample size calculation, 286 respondents were needed for the study. A questionnaire was created using “Google Forms” and shared within the chosen “Facebook” communities. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire designed specifically for this study, which was based on previously used questions and refined through a pilot study. The questionnaire consisted of 26 closed- ended questions covering sociodemographic characteristics, social media activity and trust in it, subjective and objective oral health knowledge and behaviours, self-perceived oral health. For data processing and statistical analysis “Microsoft Office Excel” (2021) and the statistical software package “IBM SPSS Statistics” (30.0.0) were used. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, Monte Carlo simulation, and univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression were applied for statistical analysis. Results were considered statistically significant when the p-value (level of significance) was less than 0.05. Results. Out of 302 respondents who participated in this study, 286 met the inclusion criteria. Of all the participants, 187 (65.4 %) were women, and the mean age was 32.7 years (SD 11.2). Frequent use of social media was reported by 279 (97.6 %) respondents, while 126 (44.1 %) of them used it frequently for viewing content related to oral health. The most popular social media platforms were “Facebook” and “Instagram”. Better oral health knowledge was observed in 146 (51.0 %), better oral health behaviour in 147 (51.4 %), while better self-perceived oral health in 195 (68.2 %) participants. No statistically significant association was found between the frequency of viewing oral health-related content on social media and participants' knowledge, behaviour, or selfperceived oral health.8 Conclusion. The frequency of observing oral health-related content on social media had no statistically significant impact on oral health knowledge, behaviours, or self-perceived oral health. Future research should focus not only on the frequency of social media use but also on the content related to oral health. |
