mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report

This study aims to assess a new mobile application (app)’s efficacy in raising oral cancer awareness among older adults through educational videos and serious games. The app, named TEGO® (Tele-platform of Geriatric and Dental Specialties), with a video about oral cancer prevention, oral-self-examina...

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Main Authors: Constanza B. Morales-Gómez, Iris L. Espinoza-Santander, Leonardo López-Neira, Alfredo H. von Marttens, Marjorie C. Borgeat, Ximena M. Lee, Marco A. Cornejo-Ovalle, Jorge A. Gamonal, Andrea C. Paula-Lima, Rodrigo A. Giacaman, Soraya León, Víctor Beltrán
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Open Exploration Publishing Inc. 2025-01-01
Series:Exploration of Digital Health Technologies
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Online Access:https://www.explorationpub.com/uploads/Article/A101139/101139.pdf
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author Constanza B. Morales-Gómez
Iris L. Espinoza-Santander
Leonardo López-Neira
Alfredo H. von Marttens
Marjorie C. Borgeat
Ximena M. Lee
Marco A. Cornejo-Ovalle
Jorge A. Gamonal
Andrea C. Paula-Lima
Rodrigo A. Giacaman
Soraya León
Víctor Beltrán
author_facet Constanza B. Morales-Gómez
Iris L. Espinoza-Santander
Leonardo López-Neira
Alfredo H. von Marttens
Marjorie C. Borgeat
Ximena M. Lee
Marco A. Cornejo-Ovalle
Jorge A. Gamonal
Andrea C. Paula-Lima
Rodrigo A. Giacaman
Soraya León
Víctor Beltrán
author_sort Constanza B. Morales-Gómez
collection DOAJ
description This study aims to assess a new mobile application (app)’s efficacy in raising oral cancer awareness among older adults through educational videos and serious games. The app, named TEGO® (Tele-platform of Geriatric and Dental Specialties), with a video about oral cancer prevention, oral-self-examination, and serious gaming elements, like trivia and word search puzzles to reinforce the acquired knowledge was developed. Fifty-six patients, aged 60 to 80 years, were randomly selected from the Dental Clinic of the University of Chile and invited to use the app on their personal smartphones. Knowledge and attitudes were evaluated before two and four weeks after use. Oral self-examination practices were measured with a checkup guideline. The participation rate was 41.1%, mostly male (52.2%). Before using the app, 30.4% of the participants reported awareness of oral cancer, and none had performed oral self-examinations. Following two weeks after use, there was notable engagement, with 100% of participants utilizing it and responding that they had heard about oral cancer, and 56.5% having practiced an oral self-examination. This last outcome increased to 82.6% in the fourth week. The use of mHealth technologies has the potential as an effective educational tool for disseminating knowledge about oral cancer among older adults.
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spelling doaj-art-5852ff6c5b1248d5bd46b5ce5c3373ce2025-08-20T03:25:59ZengOpen Exploration Publishing Inc.Exploration of Digital Health Technologies2996-94092025-01-0136395010.37349/edht.2025.101139mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary reportConstanza B. Morales-Gómez0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8374-1140Iris L. Espinoza-Santander1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8949-8885Leonardo López-Neira2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7027-9893Alfredo H. von Marttens3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4457-6952Marjorie C. Borgeat4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5253-8502Ximena M. Lee5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9910-2039Marco A. Cornejo-Ovalle6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9147-5754Jorge A. Gamonal7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7703-6587Andrea C. Paula-Lima8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0466-7561Rodrigo A. Giacaman9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3362-5173Soraya León10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9185-8317Víctor Beltrán11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6046-821XDepartment of Pathology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, Chile; Interuniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, ChileDepartment of Pathology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, Chile; Interuniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Center for Epidemiology and Surveillance of Oral Diseases (CESOD), Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Information and Communication Technology Institute, University of La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Faculty of Dentistry, University of Valparaíso, Valparaíso 236004, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Institute for Research in Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Institute for Research in Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Institute for Research in Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Cariology and Gerodontology Units, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Cariology and Gerodontology Units, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, ChileInteruniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), Talca 4811230, Chile; Clinical Investigation and Dental Innovation Center (CIDIC), Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine (CEMT), University of La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileThis study aims to assess a new mobile application (app)’s efficacy in raising oral cancer awareness among older adults through educational videos and serious games. The app, named TEGO® (Tele-platform of Geriatric and Dental Specialties), with a video about oral cancer prevention, oral-self-examination, and serious gaming elements, like trivia and word search puzzles to reinforce the acquired knowledge was developed. Fifty-six patients, aged 60 to 80 years, were randomly selected from the Dental Clinic of the University of Chile and invited to use the app on their personal smartphones. Knowledge and attitudes were evaluated before two and four weeks after use. Oral self-examination practices were measured with a checkup guideline. The participation rate was 41.1%, mostly male (52.2%). Before using the app, 30.4% of the participants reported awareness of oral cancer, and none had performed oral self-examinations. Following two weeks after use, there was notable engagement, with 100% of participants utilizing it and responding that they had heard about oral cancer, and 56.5% having practiced an oral self-examination. This last outcome increased to 82.6% in the fourth week. The use of mHealth technologies has the potential as an effective educational tool for disseminating knowledge about oral cancer among older adults.https://www.explorationpub.com/uploads/Article/A101139/101139.pdfmhealthoral cancerawarenessoral self-examination
spellingShingle Constanza B. Morales-Gómez
Iris L. Espinoza-Santander
Leonardo López-Neira
Alfredo H. von Marttens
Marjorie C. Borgeat
Ximena M. Lee
Marco A. Cornejo-Ovalle
Jorge A. Gamonal
Andrea C. Paula-Lima
Rodrigo A. Giacaman
Soraya León
Víctor Beltrán
mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report
Exploration of Digital Health Technologies
mhealth
oral cancer
awareness
oral self-examination
title mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report
title_full mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report
title_fullStr mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report
title_full_unstemmed mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report
title_short mHealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in Chile: a preliminary report
title_sort mhealth to enhance oral cancer awareness in older adults in chile a preliminary report
topic mhealth
oral cancer
awareness
oral self-examination
url https://www.explorationpub.com/uploads/Article/A101139/101139.pdf
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