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Waiting room time: An opportunity for parental oral health education

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The UBC Children’s Dental Program (CDP) has provided free dental treatments to underserved low-income children, but its preventive component needs to be enhanced. The study aims were: 1) to develop a “waiting-room based” dental education program engaging caregivers of these children, and 2) to assess the program’s feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness.

METHODS: In preparation, a situational analysis (SA) included structured interviews with caregivers, and with various stakeholders (e.g., dental students, instructors, health authority) involved in the CDP program. Based on the SA, caregiver-centered education was designed using an interactive power point presentation; after the presentation, each caregiver set personalized goals for modifying his/her child’s dental behaviours. Evaluation of the program was done with follow-up telephone calls; the program’s effectiveness was assessed by comparing before/after proportions of caregivers brushing their child’s teeth, children brushing teeth in the morning and evening, children eating sugar-containing snacks, and children drinking sugar-containing drinks.

RESULTS: The program proved to be easy to implement (feasible) and the recruitment rate was 99% (acceptable). The follow-up rate was 81%. The SA identified that the caregivers’ knowledge about caries etiology and prevention was limited. All recruited caregivers completed the educational session and set goals for their family. The evaluation demonstrated an increase in caregiver-reported short-term diet and oral self-care behaviours of their children.

CONCLUSION: A dental education program engaging caregivers in the waiting room was a feasible, acceptable and promising strategy for improving short¬term dental behaviours of children.

Résumé

OBJECTIFS: Le programme de soins dentaires de l’UBC (CDP) a offert des traitements dentaires sans frais aux enfants à faible statut socioéconomique, mais la composante de prévention a besoin d’amélioration. L’étude visait à: 1) élaborer une séance de formation en soins dentaires de type « salle d’attente » qui engageaient les parents de ces enfants et 2) évaluer la faisabilité, l’acceptabilité et l’efficacité du programme.

MÉTHODES: Au départ, une analyse de la situation (AS) comprenait des entrevues structurées avec les parents ainsi qu’avec divers intervenants (p.ex., des étudiants en dentisterie, des instructeurs, des autorités sanitaires) impliqués dans le programme CDP. Selon l’AS, des cours visant les parents ont été élaborés en utilisant une présentation interactive PowerPoint; après la présentation, chacun des parents s’est fixé des buts personnalisés dans le but de modifier le comportement des enfants quant aux soins dentaires. L’évaluation du programme s’est effectuée au moyen de suivis téléphoniques; l’efficacité du programme a été évaluée en comparant la proportion de responsables qui brossaient les dents des enfants, des enfants qui se brossaient les dents le matin et en soirée, des enfants qui consommaient des collations contenant du sucre, et des enfants qui consommaient des breuvages contenant du sucre, selon un démarquage avant/après.

RÉSULTATS: Le programme s’est avéré facile à mettre en œuvre (faisabilité) et le taux de recrutement était acceptable à 99 %. Le taux de suivi était de 81 %. L’AS a pu identifier que la connaissance des parents au sujet de l’étiologie de la carie et de la prévention était limitée. Tous les parents ont terminé la séance de formation et ont pu fixer des objectifs pour la famille. L’évaluation a fait la preuve d’une amélioration de comportements par rapport à un régime à court terme ainsi que du comportement autonome des enfants en santé orale.

CONCLUSION: Un programme d’éducation qui engage les parents dans la salle d’attente est un moyen faisable, acceptable et une stratégie prometteuse pour l’amélioration des habitudes de la santé orale des enfants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, J.B. Macdonald Building, 2199 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada

    Randa Soussou DMD,  Jolanta Aleksejūnienė DMD, MS, PhD & Rosamund Harrison DMD, MS, MRCD(C)

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  1. Randa Soussou DMD
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  2. Jolanta Aleksejūnienė DMD, MS, PhD
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  3. Rosamund Harrison DMD, MS, MRCD(C)
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Correspondence to Jolanta Aleksejūnienė DMD, MS, PhD.

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Soussou, R., Aleksejūnienė, J. & Harrison, R. Waiting room time: An opportunity for parental oral health education. Can J Public Health 108, e251–e256 (2017). https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.108.5984

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