S18 

 Effect of Health Messages during Dental Treatment in Improving COVID-19 Preventive 

Health Behaviour: A Randomised Controlled Trial 

 
Normaliza Ab Malik, Azlan Jaafar, Aws Hashim Ali Al-Khadim 

 
Objectives. Preventive health behaviour is essential during dental visits to ensure the environment is 

safe for dental healthcare providers and patients attending the dental clinic. This study investigates the 

effectiveness of informational health messages during dental treatment to enhance COVID-19 

preventive health behaviour among dental patients.  

Methods. A randomised controlled trial was conducted among patients visiting dental practices during 

the COVID-19 pandemic. The test group was given an audio device containing health messages related 

to COVID-19 and the importance of preventive health behaviour. A piece of relaxing instrumental 

music accompanied the information. The control group was given the same relaxing instrumental music 

only without any health information. A questionnaire, comprising five sections, was adapted and 

extracted from the WHO resources, guidance and protocol to suit the study objectives related to 

pandemic knowledge and preventive health behaviour. 

Results. A total of 130 patients participated in the study, with 65 patients in each group. The 

participants’ age ranged from 18 to 77 years old. More than half of the participants were female (65.4%), 

and 91.5% claimed no chronic illnesses. More than half of the participants in the test group performed 

hand cleaning behaviour immediately after treatment (62.5%) and at the counter after completing the 

treatment (52.8%) compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference between 

the two groups. Both groups showed significant differences in their preventive health behaviour before 

and after treatment (P<0.001). Higher knowledge and self-efficacy levels were found in the test group 

compared to the control group, but there were no significant differences between the two groups 

(P>0.05). There was a significant difference in the awareness level between the test and control group 

(P=0.007). 

Conclusion. An informational health message delivered using an audio device during dental treatment 

was effective in improving COVID-19 preventive health behaviour among dental patients. Thus, this 

study has shown the potential effect of using an audio device during dental treatment to disseminate 

health information, particularly during unprecedented health events such as the COVID-19 outbreak.  

 

Keywords: COVID-19, music, dental patient, behaviour  

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________ 

Correspondence to:  

Dr Normaliza Ab Malik, Associate Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, 

liza_amalik@usim.edu.my, liza_arie2004@yahoo.com    

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v6i0.408

mailto:liza_amalik@usim.edu.my
mailto:liza_arie2004@yahoo.com