Perfis no Instagram® de Influenciadores digitais brasileiros na área de odontopediatria

Abstract

The use of social media in some populations is already superior to the use of television, and it is one of the means of obtaining health information. The objective of this study was to evaluate quantitatively and qualitatively the content posted on Instagram® by digital influencers in Pediatric Dentistry in Brazil. The personal profiles on Instagram of digital influencers in the field of Pediatric Dentistry, with more than 10,000 followers and in Brazilian Portuguese, were included in the survey. Each profile was evaluated regarding the number of followers, posts and comments during three months of 2021. The posts were classified according to the theme (health content, advertising, personal life, clinical case, commemorative date, care protocols in relation to COVID-19). 19, photo or video with patient, digital marketing, content for dentists, others) and evaluated in terms of follower interaction (number of comments and likes). Health content posts were also evaluated for the quality of the content published according to the BRA-CDC-CCI tool. All posts were also checked for compliance with the Federal Council of Dentistry and international guidelines. A questionnaire developed for the research was sent to each digital influencer whose profile was included in the study. The questionnaire contained 27 questions about personal aspects; academic education; occupation area; features of your profile. Descriptive analyzes of variables and unadjusted and adjusted multilevel linear regression analyzes were performed to assess the relationship between predictors and the BR-CDC-ICC and between predictors and norms of international ethical guidelines. A significance level of 5% was adopted. 57 profiles were evaluated regarding the open content published on Instagram® (total sample), of which 35 answered the questionnaire (partial sample). In the total sample, the average number of followers was 37 thousand; the average percentage of health content posts was 18.7%; the mean score on the BR-CDC-CCI was 52.7; 3 profiles did not post health content in the evaluated period. In the multilevel linear regression analysis, the posts that obtained a higher score on the BR-CDC-CCI received fewer likes. This relationship was significant both in the unadjusted (p=0.001) and adjusted (p=0.004) model. In the partial sample, the average number of followers was 30,000; the average percentage of health content posts was 21.9%; the mean score on the BR CDC-CCI was 51.9; 1 profile did not post health content in the evaluated period. In the multilevel linear regression analysis, posts aimed at dentists achieved higher scores on the BR-CDC-CCI than posts that had a different target audience in the adjusted model (p=0.004). Most of the sample of influencers were female and active in the Southeast of the country. It is concluded that the amount of health content posted by these influencers was heterogeneous and generally of low quality. The quality of health content was slightly better when targeting dentists. The worse the quality of the health content post, the greater the number of likes. The vast majority of posts by influencers in Pediatric Dentistry in Brazil meet the CFO standards, but a third of these posts do not comply with international ethics recommendations, with influencers who have a channel for public feedback infringing international standards more.