Social Media for Teaching Infection Prevention and Control in Dentistry: Survey of Students Perception and Comparative Study of Academic Performance

Abstract

Introduction: Promoting student engagement for safe practice in dentistry has been a challenge. Social media, so strongly present in the lives of young people, can become a support for better engagement, motivation and learning. Aim: To evaluate dental student perception (adherence and applicability) about the inclusion of social media (Facebook-F, WhatsApp-W, and Instagram-I) as learning tools for teaching infection prevention and control. The performance (scores) of the students was compared to the results obtained by students who did not have access to social media for educational purposes. Materials and Methods: This research sample was formed by the students enrolled in the discipline of Biosafety and Ergonomics 2, at Federal University of Pernambuco-Brazil, between 2014 and 2017 (n=371). They answered a questionnaire survey in which the adherence, applicability and use of social media were evaluated as educational platforms. The academic performance (scores) of the interviewees on the discipline was compared to the results obtained by students who did not have access to social media for educational purposes in previous semesters (2011 to 2014). Results: The adherence of the use of social media apps was 98.3% (F), 100% (W), and 90% (I). Students considered that social media were advantageous teaching platforms (F-99%, W-100% e I-94%) because of: easy access to obtain didactic material (F); obtaining information quickly (W); images making the student assimilate the studied subject more effectively (I). There was no difference when comparing the students’ scores before and after inclusion of the social media in the subject (p=0.141; Student’s t-test). Conclusion: The majority of students adhered to social media and considered them to be advantageous infection prevention and control study platforms. This inclusion did not have negative impact on students’ academic performance.

Keywords

• dental education
• infection control
• learning
• social media