mHealth App for Oral Hygiene and Cancer Awareness in Older Adults

NCT07275411 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: CIES009
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 62
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a mobile app with educational videos and serious games is more effective than a video-only version of the app to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices about oral cancer and oral hygiene in older adults. The study also aims to evaluate the usability of the app and the impact of the intervention on performing oral self-examination. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Group A: Access to educational videos and serious games
• Group B: Access to educational videos only Use the app for 4 weeks Answer a questionnaire before starting, after 2 weeks, and after 4 weeks Perform an oral self-examination at week 4, which will be evaluated using a checklist This trial will help determine whether mobile tele-education tools, especially those that include interactive features like serious games, are effective and acceptable ways to improve oral health education in older adults.

Conditions

Oral Cancer; Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Among Patients; Older Adults

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in knowledge, attitudes about oral cancer and oral hygiene, and performance of oral self-examination in older adults using a mobile educational application.

  increasing participants' knowledge and attitudes regarding oral cancer and oral hygiene, as well as their ability to perform oral self-examination. Knowledge and attitudes are measured using a structured questionnaire administered at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks. Oral self-examination practices are evaluated at 4 weeks using a standardized checklist verifying the correct performance of five key steps. Comparisons are made between the group using videos and serious games and the group using videos only.

  Baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks after the start of the intervention.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Usability of the mobile oral health education application

  4 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Serious Games Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive an oral health mobile application with educational videos and serious games designed to improve knowledge and self-examination practices.

Behavioral: Mobile Oral Health Education App

Video-Only Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants receive an oral health mobile application with educational videos only, without interactive components.

Behavioral: Mobile Oral Health Education App

Interventions

Mobile Oral Health Education App BEHAVIORAL

This intervention consists of a mobile application designed to improve oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among older adults. The app includes educational videos about oral hygiene and oral cancer. In the experimental group, the app also incorporates interactive serious games to reinforce learning and promote oral self-examination. In the active comparator group, participants have access only to the educational videos within the same app. The intervention targets individuals aged 60 to 70 years and is evaluated over a 4-week period through questionnaires and observation of oral self-examination practices.

Serious Games Group; Video-Only Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years - 85 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults aged 60 years and older.
• Completed dental treatment at the Dental Clinic of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, during 2023 and 2024.
• Own a smartphone with Android operating system.
• Regular users of at least one social media platform (e.g., WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook).

You may not qualify if:

• Older adults with self-reported uncorrected visual or auditory sensory deficits resulting in total blindness or deafness.
• Older adults with cognitive impairment, defined as a score of 13 or lower on the abbreviated Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (maximum score 19).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Chile: lead
• Universidad de La Frontera: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Dental Clinic, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile

Santiago, Chile

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mouth Neoplasms; Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Head and Neck Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Mouth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases

Study Officials

• Iris Lucia Espinoza-Santander, PhD in Public Health

  Departament of Pathology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Constanza Beatriz Morales-Gómez, Master's Degree in Science

  Departament of Pathology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 27, 2025
• First Posted: December 10, 2025
• Study Start: May 2, 2024
• Primary Completion: November 11, 2024
• Study Completion: November 11, 2024
• Last Updated: December 10, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Locations

CL (1)