#Dentalpain: What do the brazilian Instagram® users want to mean?

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate what brazilian Instagram® users manifest when they use #dordedente (#dentalpain in portuguese). Methods: The content of 1,000 publications related to dental pain was evaluated. Through print screens posts were collected in two periods (2015 and 2020) and organized into files. Variables related to characteristics of users, publication's type, cause of pain, impact on daily life and actions take to relieve pain were collected. Data analysis was realized through the qualitative methodology of conventional content analysis and a descriptive analysis (95% CI) was performed. Results: In the first assessment period 76% of the posts referred to self-declaration of pain. Regarding to the users' characteristics, 54% were female, 20.4% male, and the remaining 25.6% were clinic/ company profiles, or it was not possible to identify the user's gender. Apparently, 34.4% of users were adults, 18.6% were adolescents and only 1.2% were children. On the other hand, in the second evaluation the vast majority (99.6%) were clinic/company profiles. In addition, 90.2% were informative posts and only 3 posts (0.6%) were related to self-declaration of pain. Conclusions: The social network Instagram® serves as an efficient means of communication for informative and advertising purposes being an interesting alternative for the dissemination of health information, and as an instrument of health surveillance.