An interventional study of Dissemination via Social Media and Dissemination via Email in Physiotherapy, sponsored by Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in Brazil. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-04-08.
Sponsored by Universidade Federal de Santa Maria · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
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This study is designed to assess how effective social media is in disseminating scientific knowledge to physiotherapists in Brazil. The trial will include physiotherapists who treat at least three patients weekly and regularly use Instagram and WhatsApp. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: the experimental group will receive scientific content through Instagram, while the control group will receive the same content via email. Both groups will engage with the material for 10 weeks.
The scientific content covers seven key topics related to physiotherapy, such as musculoskeletal and sport rehabilitation, and will be tailored to clinical practice. For the Instagram group, content will be shared via posts, stories, and reels, while the email group will receive summaries and links to full articles. The study aims to evaluate the impact of these interventions on participants\' engagement with scientific content and its application to clinical practice.
Key outcomes will include the effectiveness of knowledge dissemination, participant feedback on the audiovisual content, and qualitative insights from interviews. The study will follow a specific timeline, with reassessment three months after the intervention to gauge long-term effects. Data will be analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the intervention\'s reach and feasibility.
This protocol details a randomized, single-blind controlled trial to assess how effectively scientific content can be disseminated to Brazilian physiotherapists using social media (Instagram). The study will follow physiotherapists who treat at least three patients per week and use Instagram and WhatsApp regularly. These participants will be randomized into two groups: an experimental group receiving content via Instagram and a control group receiving the same information via email.
The study will focus on seven areas relevant to physiotherapy practice, including musculoskeletal rehabilitation, cardiovascular care, and women's health. The content, developed using scientific articles, will be shared daily over 10 weeks. For the Instagram group, the content will be presented through various formats like posts, stories, and reels, with visually engaging elements to boost retention. The email group will receive daily summaries of the articles, similar to a journal-style format.
To maintain participant engagement, both groups will receive weekly summaries, and participants will be assessed on how well they apply the scientific content in practice. The primary outcomes include the effectiveness of content dissemination, participant engagement, and knowledge retention, evaluated through surveys, interviews, and technical assessments. Qualitative interviews will explore participants' experiences, and the quality of the audiovisual materials used will be rated by participants.
The trial will last for 10 weeks, followed by an additional week for reassessment and a three-month follow-up. Data will be analyzed quantitatively to measure the reach and effectiveness of the interventions, with feasibility analyzed using the RE-AIM framework. Qualitative data will be analyzed through thematic analysis, ensuring an in-depth understanding of the intervention's success. This study aims to offer insights into the best methods for delivering scientific knowledge to healthcare professionals via digital platforms.
Universidade Federal de Santa Maria is the lead sponsor of 37 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Inclusion Criteria:
The group will receive scientific content via social media
Other: Dissemination via Social Media
The group will receive scientific content via email
Other: Dissemination via Email
Participants in the experimental group will follow a scientific Instagram profile where content will be shared. The profile will remain open, allowing permanent access to all posts. To optimize Instagram\'s algorithm, we will use an existing active profile. Any control group participants already following the profile will be removed upon allocation. For each selected article, we will create three presentations using Instagram features like carousel images and short videos, shared as posts, stories, and reels. This strategy will provide content for 30 weeks of daily posts. Each post will feature visually appealing graphics to convey scientific information and support evidence-based practice (EBP) competencies.
The participant allocated to the control group will receive a different summary each day, along with a link to the full article. This strategy was chosen to replicate the approach used by scientific journals to disseminate new issues.
Use of scientific information to make clinical decisions
Participants should indicate their level using a scale 0-10 points (0 = I do not use; 10 = I only make clinical decisions using the best available evidence)
Time frame: Baseline and the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Understanding of scientific information interpretation for application in clinical practice
Participants should indicate their level using a scale 0-10 points (0 = I do not understand; 10 = I have a complete understanding to apply scientific findings in clinical practice)
Time frame: Baseline and the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Motivation to search for scientific information that could support clinical decisions
Participants should indicate their level using a scale 0-10 points (0 = I have no motivation; 10 = I am completely motivated)
Time frame: Baseline and the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Importance of scientific information in making clinical decisions
Participants should indicate their level using a scale 0-10 points (0 = No importance; 10 = Extremely important)
Time frame: Baseline and the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Barriers to applying scientific findings
Participants will describe their barriers to applying scientific findings in clinical practice and the number of barriers reported will be considered for analysis
Time frame: Baseline and the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (EBPQ)
The EBPQ evaluates EBP competencies and has 24 items scored using a 7-point Likert scale (1-7 points); mean of the items will be used for analysis
Time frame: Baseline and the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Overcoming the reported barriers
Participants will be asked whether the program helped to overcome the reported barriers (yes or no answer)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Completion
Number of participants who completed the study
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Level of participation
Participants should indicate their level using a scale 0-10 points (0 = I did not pay attention to any shared material; 10 = I read all the shared material of my interest)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Impact of program on the clinical practice and decisions
Participants should indicate their level using a 5-point Likert scale (1=much worse, 2= worse, 3=the same, 4= better, 5=much better)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Use of shared information
Participants will indicate whether they applied information shared during the program in clinical practice (yes or no answer)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Influence of the program
Participants will indicate whether the program Influenced them to do something different in clinical practice (yes or no answer)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Intervention's modification
We will register whether modifications to the interventions are necessary during the study
Time frame: During the whole program which will take approximately 7 months
Contamination of control group
Checking if participant is following the Instagram's profile
Time frame: During the 10 weeks of treatment
Attitude towards seeking information from channels that facilitate the understanding of high-quality scientific findings
Participants should indicate their level using a scale 0-10 points (0 = I will not use such information source; 10 = I will definitely use information source that facilitate my understanding)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Approach to study
Participants will indicate whether the program influenced on the approach to studying technical content (yes or no answer)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Use of channels to facilitate understanding
Participants will indicate whether they have used channels that facilitate the understanding of scientific findings
Time frame: 3-month follow-up
Application of information from different channels
Participants will indicate whether they have applied information from channels that facilitate the understanding of scientific findings in clinical practice
Time frame: 3-month follow-up
Qualitative outcome
Semi-structured interviews aimed at understanding their perceptions of the application of scientific content in clinical practice and their views on the interventions. Individual interviews will be conducted via telephone or video call, with responses to open-ended questions being audio-recorded.
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Quality of information
Participants should indicate their opinion about the quality of information using a scale 0-10 points (0 = terrible content; 10 = excellent content)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Visual quality of the shared materials
Participants should indicate their opinion using a scale 0-10 points (0 = worst visual quality; 10 = excellent visual quality)
Time frame: End of treatment at 10 weeks
Metrics from social media
We will collect engagement metrics from Instagram
Time frame: During the whole program which will take approximately 7 months
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Nov 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jun 2025, 7 months after the start.
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This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Apr 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Universidade Federal de Santa Maria