Evaluation of an oral health education session for Early Head Start home visitors. J Public Health Dent 2016 Jun;76(3):167-70
Date
09/03/2016Pubmed ID
27589666DOI
10.1111/jphd.12140Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84958191068 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 7 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVES: Home visiting programs promote the education and health of Early Head Start (EHS) children and pregnant women. However, EHS's oral health component is unevenly implemented. We conducted an educational intervention to improve oral health knowledge and motivational interviewing techniques among Wisconsin EHS home visitors.
METHODS: A questionnaire assessing oral health-related knowledge and confidence was administered to home visitors before and after an educational session. Changes between pre/post-responses were analyzed with McNemar's test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test.
RESULTS: After the intervention there were increases in both knowledge and confidence related to oral health communication. Knowledge increases were observed in such topics as fluoridation, dental caries, and caregivers' role in assisting and supervising children's tooth brushing.
CONCLUSIONS: A brief educational intervention was associated with increased home visitor knowledge and confidence in communicating oral health messages to EHS caregivers and pregnant women.
Author List
Glatt K, Okunseri C, Flanagan D, Simpson P, Cao Y, Willis EAuthors
Christopher Okunseri DDS,MS Associate Professor and Director in the Clinical Services department at Marquette UniversityPippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Dental Care for ChildrenFemale
Health Education, Dental
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Infant
Inservice Training
Male
Oral Health
Program Evaluation
Surveys and Questionnaires
Wisconsin