Scientific Content Disseminated Via Social Media for Physiotherapists (ASTEROID)

Audiovisual Materials Disseminated Via Social Media Targeting Evidence-based Rehabilitation Implementation for Physiotherapists

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Physiotherapy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Dissemination via Social Media; Other: Dissemination via Email

Detailed Description

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.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 120
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • RS
    • Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, 97105-900
      • Federal University of Santa Maria

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Social Media; The group will receive scientific content via social media	Other: Dissemination via Social Media; 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.
Active Comparator: Email; The group will receive scientific content via email	Other: Dissemination via Email; 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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 Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Completion	Number of participants who completed the study	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)	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)	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)	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)	End of treatment at 10 weeks
Intervention's modification	We will register whether modifications to the interventions are necessary during the study	During the whole program which will take approximately 7 months
Contamination of control group	Checking if participant is following the Instagram's profile	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)	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)	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	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	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.	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)	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)	End of treatment at 10 weeks
Metrics from social media	We will collect engagement metrics from Instagram	During the whole program which will take approximately 7 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Guilherme S Nunes, PhD, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 15, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 17, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): September 20, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 4, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Knowledge translation; evidence-based practice; continuous education
• Other Study ID Numbers: 4.033.967

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No