The effects of images posted to social media by orthodontists on public perception of professional credibility and willingness to become a client

Abstract

Background Many patients choose health professionals using the Internet, whether through websites or social media. In orthodontics, an orthodontist’s relationship with active and potential patients can be affected by social media interactions, both as a marketing tool and as a tool for providing educational information. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the public perception of professional credibility and willingness to become a client, based on images posted by orthodontists on Instagram. Method This was a cross-sectional study performed using a digital self-administered questionnaire based on images from public Instagram profiles of orthodontists found using certain hashtags. The themes of the posts were analyzed through a qualitative analysis, and the results were expressed as categories. After analyzing 2445 images, 12 thematic categories emerged. A total of 446 individuals (225 laypeople, 66 dental students, and 155 dentists) evaluated the images in regard to the perception of professional credibility and willingness to become a client. One-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were applied, considering a 5% significance level. Results It was found that more than 95% of the participants used social media, primarily Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, and the social network most used to research health services was Instagram. Statistically significant differences were found in the mean value of perceived professional credibility between the groups (p < 0.05) for the following categories: “dental traction,” “mini-implant mechanics,” “before and after treatment,” “aesthetic brackets,” “metallic brackets,” and “clear aligners.” The categories “being a teacher” and “before and after treatment” had a higher impact on the participants’ perception of credibility and willingness to become a client, unlike the “social relationship” and “family relationship” categories. Conclusions Some of the themes found in the orthodontists’ social media posts were found to influence the perceptions around professional credibility and willingness to become a client, although there were differences among the participants in the present study.

Defining Potentially Unprofessional Behavior on Social Media for Health Care Professionals: Mixed Methods Study

“…Surprisingly, this issue is still so prevalent [ 48 ]. Patients search on the web for their physicians and their impressions about professionalism are based on the publicly available web-based SM content [ 68 , 69 ], but patients also use SM as the most influential web-based method in selecting a physician [ 69 , 70 ]. Besides patients, publicly available content on SM is also screened by future or current employers [ 48 ].…”

Dangers and Benefits of Social Media on E-Professionalism of Health Care Professionals: Scoping Review

“…Another recent study by Meira et al [ 164 ] investigating professionalism perception of orthodontist through exposure of laypeople, dental students, and dentists to images usually found on Instagram found that images related to social and family relationships were associated with lower scores regarding the perception of professional credibility for all groups [ 164 ]. They argued that their results indicate that personal images, possibly because they are not related to the professional context, contribute little toward the professional image of orthodontists on Instagram.…”

A revolução tecnológica e os benefícios do marketing digital respaldados pela ética odontológica: revisão integrativa de literatura

“…Os temas mais discutidos em relação à aplicação ética da Internet e das tecnologias de comunicação na área da saúde são privacidade do paciente, confidencialidade e anonimato, segurança de dados, concorrência leal e propaganda real. No entanto, os princípios de ética e o código de conduta profissional de cada país devem primeiro ser respeitados (Meira et al, 2021).…”

“…Por isso, a ética, sendo um conjunto de valores e princípios que possibilitam a interação harmoniosa e respeitosa entre diferentes pessoas desconsiderando interesses individualistas e enganosos, deve ser aplicada em sua totalidade de intervenções de marketing para benefício do empreendimento odontológico e dos pacientes (Meira et al, 2021). sociais online não infringem a lei nem desrespeitam os princípios éticos e considerando, portanto, a flexibilidade, amplo alcance, facilidade de uso e baixo custo, quando comparados aos meios tradicionais, desistir de usá-los ou se opor ao seu uso seria imprudente (Meira et al, 2021).…”