COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ WEBSITES Digital Strategies for Health Communication (HCOM512) Hubert Park 7/14/12

Organizations  Organizations that aim to improve oral health in the U.S.: - American Dental Association - American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry - American Dental Education Association  Why I chose them: - I am in pediatric dentistry - I surf on all three websites frequently, though much more so on AAPD

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD)  The membership organization representing the specialty of pediatric dentistry  Mission: “To advocate policies, guidelines and programs that promote optimal oral health and oral health care for children. The AAPD serves and represents its membership in the areas of professional development and governmental and legislative activities. It is a liaison to other health care groups and the public.”

5,641 Likes 14 mutual friends that also like the FB page Posts include: members featured in the news, CE courses, and pearls of wisdom Geared towards AAPD members

203 tweets, 467 following, and 3004 followers Posts include: Same exacts posts found on Facebook Geared towards AAPD members

AAPD Strategy  Simple, easy-to-follow layout  Drop down menu with clearly labeled topics  Apps designed for conferences  A large section where local pediatric dentists can be located based on zip code and miles.  Members-only content (e.g. publications)

AAPD SWOT Strengths -Simple layout -Easy to navigate - Mobile version available - Wealth of information for residents, pediatric dentists, and those in policy Weaknesses - Lack of parent-friendly content (i.e. terms too technical, not easy to spot on the website) Opportunities - Improve resources for parents seeking information Threats - Others in dentistry who may not provide the most accurate, up-to-date info on pediatric dentistry but parents may opt for instead.

Recommendations  Increase parent-friendly content  Increase visibility of the parent-friendly content  Increase user-based activity on Facebook and Twitter (perhaps increase membership of parents)

American Dental Association (ADA))  Vision: to be the recognized leader in oral health  Mission: “The ADA is the professional association of dentists that fosters the success of a diverse membership and advances the oral health of the public.”

31,456 Likes 22 mutual friends that also like the FB page Posts include: More lay user-friendly content (e.g. myth busters), photos from meetings, etc Geared towards everyone interested in dentistry

938 tweets, 1065 following, and followers Posts include: More members-oriented content, less fun trivia Geared towards ADA memberes

ADA Strategy  Simple, easy-to-follow layout  Drop down menu with clearly labeled topics  Apps designed for conferences  More public-friendly content

ADA SWOT Strengths -Simple layout -Easy to navigate - Mobile version available - Information for EVERYONE Weaknesses - Did not utilize the Twitter site to educate the public Opportunities -Increase the public-friendly content such as myth busters on the Twitter site -Many are aware of ADA due to ADA seal of approval on toothpastes Threats - None that I can think of

Recommendations  Continue with the public-friendly content on Facebook and the website  Do utilize Twitter site to reach out to the general public  Create a dentist locator function on the front page

American Dental Education Association (ADEA))  Is the voice of dental education. Its members include all U.S. and Canadian dental schools and many allied and advanced dental education programs, corporations, faculty, and students  Mission: “To lead individuals and institutions of the dental education community to address contemporary issues influencing education, research, and the delivery of oral health care for the health of the public.ADEA's activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings, and communications like the esteemed Journal of Dental Education, as well as the dental school admissions services AADSAS, PASS, DHCAS, and CAAPID.”

5,773 Likes 5 mutual friends that also like the FB page Posts include: Conference- and school-related content Geared towards those in dental education system

1,040 tweets, 145 following, and 2,624 followers Posts include: Similar to Facebook Geared towards ADEA memberes

ADEA Strategy  Heavy on dental education content  Drop down menu with clearly labeled topics  Promoting conferences for dentists and dental students

ADEA SWOT Strengths -An overabundance of useful for those in dental school or dental residency programs -Frequent updates Weaknesses -Busy layout especially on the front page of the website (very vertically designed) Opportunities -Improve the visual appeal of the front page of the website Threats - Individual programs which may provide sufficient information regarding education and conferences

Recommendations  Improve the layout of the front page of the website to facilitate easier navigation – the current design is too vertically oriented and requires scrolling down nearly 3 pages.

Thank you! Questions?