EFFECTIVENESS OF A HYBRID MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING MODEL USING MOBILE APP AND FACE-TO-FACE COUNSELING ON ORAL HYGIENE AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN GORONTALO

Abstract

Oral and dental health problems among adolescents remain a global public health challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of hybrid motivational interviewing (MI) education on improving the Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHIS) among adolescents in Gorontalo. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was conducted with 100 adolescents, divided into an intervention group (hybrid MI via Android application and face-to-face counseling) and a control group (conventional oral health education). The intervention lasted four months. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test due to non-normal distribution. The intervention group showed a significant reduction in mean OHIS scores from 3.19 (poor) to 1.37 (moderate–good) (p<0.001). In contrast, the control group showed a smaller decrease from 2.74 to 2.00. The mean difference indicated greater improvement in the hybrid MI group (-1.82) compared to the control group (-0.74). Hybrid MI is significantly more effective than conventional education in improving adolescent oral hygiene and is recommended as a promotive–preventive strategy in oral health programs.