Mobile-health Intervention to Promote Oral Health in Adolescents: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the family and behavioral theory based mobile-health behavioral intervention in enhancing adolescents'good oral health behaviors (mainly oral hygiene practice and free sugar intake control) and preventing common oral diseases (dental caries and periodontal diseases).
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
The investigators propose a 30-months clustered randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of Health Belief Model (HBM) and family-based mobile-health intervention in enhancing the adolescents' good oral health behaviors and preventing oral diseases.
This is a three-arm parallel-design cluster-randomized controlled trial. Parents and their children (12 to 15-year-old) will be recruited and randomized into 3 groups based on the school sites.
Messages targeted on six domains guided by HBM will be sent to the adolescents and their parents via mobile phone. Two blocks of HBM-based oral health messages, reminders, feedback and reinforcement messages will be delivered to both students and parents by mobile phone for 24 weeks; while the intervention of the other 2 groups will target on students only or using prevailing oral health education.
The primary outcomes will be caries increment of the adolescents 2-year post-intervention. Change in oral health self-efficacy and behaviors, dental plaque and gingival bleeding index will be the secondary outcomes.
The investigators anticipate the proposed family- and HBM-based behavioral intervention is more effective than HBM-based mobile-health intervention on adolescents alone or prevailing oral health education in improving the adolescents' oral hygiene behaviors, reducing free-sugar intake and preventing oral diseases.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Families HBM- mobile messaging Family- and HBM-based behavioral intervention using mobile messaging |
Behavioral: Family HBM- mobile messaging
The intervention will consist of two blocks of text messaging based on HBM model, the messages will be sent to the students and their parents in the following 24 weeks.
|
| Active Comparator: Adolescents HBM- mobile messaging Student- and HBM-based behavioral intervention using mobile messaging |
Behavioral: Adolescent HBM- mobile messaging
The intervention will consist of two blocks of text messaging based on HBM model, the messages will be sent to the students in the following 24 weeks.
|
| Placebo Comparator: Adolescents e-pamphlets Prevailing oral health education by e-version of pamphlets through mobile messaging |
Behavioral: Adolescent e-pamphlets
The contents of e-version of three pamphlets, published by Department of Health (http://www.toothclub.gov.hk/en/en_index.html) will be distributed in an electronic form and sent via a mobile message.
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Caries increment [2 years]
Dental caries increment (by tooth level) from baseline to 2 years follow up
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Change of oral health self-efficacy [2 years]
Change from baseline self-efficacy at 2 years
- Change of gingival status [2 years]
Change from baseline gingival bleeding (BOP%) at 2 years, as recommended by the WHO for conducting oral health surveys
- Change of toothbrushing behavior [2 years]
Change from baseline average frequency of toothbrushing per day at 2 years
- Change of free-sugar intake [2 years]
Change from baseline average frequency of intake of sugary snack/drink per day at 2 years
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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Chinese ethnicity;
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Student living with their own parent(s) or primary caregivers;
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Both student and parent(s) or primary caregiver having their own access to a personal mobile phone with certain Apps to receive the messages in time
Exclusion Criteria:
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Student currently on a special diet (e.g. severe inflammatory bowel disease);
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Student has medical conditions know to affect growth or eating (e.g. diabetes, cystic fibrosis);
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Enrollment in other oral health promotion programs or research studies.
Contacts and Locations
Locations
No locations specified.Sponsors and Collaborators
- The University of Hong Kong
- Food and Health Bureau, Hong Kong
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Pei LIU, The University of Hong Kong
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- HMRF 19201281