Scientific Content Disseminated Via Social Media for Physiotherapists

NCT06605040 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 4.033.967
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 120
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Physiotherapy

Keywords

Knowledge translation; continuous education; evidence-based practice

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• 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)

  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)

  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)

  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)

  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

  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

  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)

  End of treatment at 10 weeks

Other Outcomes (15)

• Completion

  End of treatment at 10 weeks

• Level of participation

  End of treatment at 10 weeks

• Impact of program on the clinical practice and decisions

  End of treatment at 10 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Social Media

EXPERIMENTAL

The group will receive scientific content via social media

Other: Dissemination via Social Media

Email

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The group will receive scientific content via email

Other: Dissemination via Email

Interventions

Dissemination via Social Media OTHER

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.

Social Media

Dissemination via Email OTHER

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.

Email

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Physiotherapists practicing in Brazil
• Involvement in the rehabilitation of at least three patients per week
• Having access to the social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp at least once daily on most days of a typical week

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidade Federal de Santa Maria: lead

Study Sites (1)

Federal University of Santa Maria

Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, 97105-900, Brazil

Location

Study Officials

• Guilherme S Nunes, PhD

  Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: This protocol outlines a randomized, single-blind (assessors), two-arms, parallel-group controlled trial which will evaluate the the impact of an educational program disseminated via social media compared to plain abstracts send via email on the clinical practice, knowledge and perceptions of physiotherapists. The study outcomes will be categorized into three areas, each of which will be addressed in separate articles: i) effectiveness, including feasibility analysis (quantitative outcomes), ii) qualitative outcomes, and iii) technical outcomes.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Adjuct Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 15, 2024
• First Posted: September 20, 2024
• Study Start: November 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2025
• Study Completion: August 1, 2025
• Last Updated: April 8, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BR (1)