Use of social media in the prevention of oral cancer

Relevancia de la prevención y el papel de las redes sociales como herramientas innovadoras en salud.

Abstract

 This review aims to identify communication strategies used through social media to transmit knowledge about early detection of oral cancer, targeting an at-risk population, which is increasingly younger. The methodology applied for the development has been the systematic review of relevant evidence with an emphasis on Spanish-language literature. The search is based primarily on Latin America, taking into consideration the very common social and geographic context among countries. This article identifies oral cancer prevention campaigns from institutions such as universities, which have evolved over time, increasingly using web applications to provide information. It is visible how people have migrated within technological trends and how young people prefer more user-friendly platforms with a greater number of views, especially on health topics. Results. Countries such as Spain, Argentina, or El Salvador among others have taken it upon themselves to guide the population on the subject of oral cancer, especially with the use of social networks and their implication for health communication, one of the studies reviewed reveals that 64.3% of articles written on the subject, affirm that Twitter now called X is an effective tool for health education and 58.3% consider that greater or prominence in social networks and intervention to strengthen content by health professionals is necessary, with respect to short videos on TIK TOK according to studies, the quality and quantity of information is little or moderately useful, in this case the importance of the format in the virality of the video is perceived, the presenters with the use of images and videos receive a greater number of visits, comments and likes. Conclusions: The use of social media such as TikTok has a particular impact on young people who use it to obtain information earlier than other conventional methods,4 including the experiences of the content creators themselves. It is hoped that this review will allow for the sharing of experiences from the region, which has similar epidemiological circumstances regarding oral cancer, and that the information gathered will motivate us to work together to help the at-risk population, avoiding devastating consequences such as death.