School-based oral health education increases caries inequalities.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of one and half years of an oral health promotion program in primary schools. DESIGN: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: 740 students aged 9-12 years (48% female) recruited from the fifth grade of 18 different primary schools in West Pomerania, Germany. METHODS: General and oral health education was provided to the teachers in the intervention schools, which they conveyed to their students. No additional measures were conducted in the control schools. Medical and dental school examinations, as well as questionnaires for the students and their parents were conducted at baseline and follow-up. Data were analysed using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: A significant incident rate ratio between caries increment was found, with a 35% higher risk in the control group. However, parents' socioeconomic characteristics modified the effect of the program on their children, as high socio-economic status in the intervention group was associated with 94% reduction in the incidence risk ratio (p ⟨ 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The program was effective in improving dental health among students with higher socio-economic status. No preventive effect could be found in low socio-economic status groups.

[Prevalence and Risk Factors for Motor Developmental Delays in 3- to 6-Year-Old Preschool Children in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]. / Prävalenzen und Risikofaktoren motorischer Entwicklungsgefährdungen bei 3- bis 6-jährigen Kindergartenkindern in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (M-V).

BACKGROUND: School entry examinations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania show a high prevalence of motor developmental delays (13.7%). In this study possible risk factors (RF) were analysed. METHODS: The study was performed as a cluster-randomised, controlled study in 12 preschools in M-V. The "Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools DESK 3-6" was used to detect developmental risks. Parents received a standardised questionnaire. RF were analysed in binary logistic regressions for fine (FM) and gross motor (GM) skills. RESULTS: N=599 children were included in the analysis. RF for FM and GM are irregular utilisation of preschools (FM: OR: 2.63; p=0.009; 95% CI: 1.27-5.45; GM: OR: 2.56; p=0.021; 95% CI: 1.15-5.68) and male sex (FM: OR: 2.97; p<0.001; 95% CI: 1.93-4.57; GM: OR: 1.87; p=0.016; 95% CI: 1.12-3.10). A low parental socioeconomic status is an RF for the development of GM (OR: 3.10; p=0.036; 95% CI: 1.08-8.95). An age-adequate development of FM is a protective factor for GM development (OR: 0.17; p<0.001; 95% CI: 0.10-0.29). CONCLUSION: Regular preschool attendance is beneficial for motor development. RESULTS confirm the adequacy of the setting preschool for interventions.

[GeKo KidS--Health Literacy in School Children]. / GeKo KidS--Gesundheitskompetenz bei Kindern in der Schule.

The main goal of this study was the evaluation of an intervention programme for the promotion of health literacy in school-aged children (grade 5-6). The project and the programme were highly accepted, the extension of the annual dental health examination was suitable to collect data within evaluation projects in schools. In spite of positive outcomes, a longer supervision phase would be necessary in order to optimise and to implement other programme components fully.

[Memorandum - research funding of prevention]. / Memorandum - Forschungsförderung Prävention.

The memorandum of the research funding of prevention has been devised within the framework of the Prevention Research Funding Programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It consists not only of the obtained findings of the research-practice co-operation but also of recommendations for the implementation of prospective, innovational, effective, practice-oriented and sustainable research. The respective knowledge has been acquired from quantitative surveys on the experiences of scientists and practice partners within the prevention research funding project as well as from extensive qualitative methods of structured group evaluation. A participatory co-operation between research and practice based on mutual respect, trust and recognition is seen as mandatory for the further development of both prevention and health promotion research. Research and practice partners are required to engage in an ab initio collaboration starting from the conception phase, whereby it is advisable to encourage and fortify the communication between research, practice and funding partners by systematic surveillance in form of a meta-project. In addition, the inclusion of the target population from the outset and on a collaborative basis is considered as beneficial in order to ensure the practical application of the research findings. Furthermore, innovatory research designs which are able to provide a framework for internal flexibility, continuous re-assessment and adjustment are fundamental for the implementation of practice-oriented research. Moreover, a dynamic co-operation between different groups of interest not only depends on sharing responsibility but also on sufficient funding for both research and practice, which is particularly important for the transfer and communication of the attained findings. With regard to the evaluation of both effectiveness and sustainability of interventions, a research funding project is required which makes long-term results possible through the utilization of regulated monitoring and guarantees quality and continuous effectiveness. Furthermore, in order to stimulate progress within the basic theories of prevention and health promotion, it is also essential for a funding project to focus on elementary concepts. Additionally, for the efficient and sustainable development of health within a population it is advisable to apply both self-contained research and the involvement of primary prevention and health promotion to research projects concerning health, social affairs, education, work and environment.

[The "Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools" (DESK 3-6) as the basis for developmental promotion in preschools in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. First results of the pilot project "Children in Preschools" referring to the acceptance of DESK 3-6 by preschool teachers]. / Das Dortmunder Entwicklungsscreening für den Kindergarten (DESK 3-6) als Basis gezielter individueller Förderung in Kindertageseinrichtungen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Erste Ergebnisse des Modellprojekts "Kinder in Kitas (KiK)" zur Akzeptanz des DESK 3-6 bei Erziehenden.

The pilot project KiK ("Kinder in Kitas," Children in Preschools) aims to support preschools in the early detection of developmental delays and to initiate individual intervention strategies. KiK was performed as a randomized, controlled prospective study in 12 preschools in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (MWP). The Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools ("Dortmunder Entwicklungsscreening für den Kindergarten DESK 3-6") was used to detect early developmental delays. Of the 71 preschool teachers, 97% rated the DESK to be a useful instrument to detect developmental delays. More than 90% of the interviewed preschool teachers rated the training positively. Preschool teachers reported that the KiK training had significantly improved their own skills to detect developmental delays in the area of fine and gross motor skills. The DESK and the training offered in preschools in MWP were widely accepted. The majority of preschool teachers judged the DESK as being suitable to detect developmental delays. The transferability of the training into daily routine of preschools in MWP was also rated positively.

[Pain and pain management for children in Greifswald and East Pomerania: comparison with the results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS)]. / Schmerzen und Schmerzmanagement bei Kindern in Greifswald und Ostvorpommern: Vergleich mit den Ergebnissen des Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurveys (KiGGS).

AIM OF THE STUDY: Pain in children and adolescents in Germany is a common health problem which has a high socioeconomic impact. There have been no studies allowing a reliable estimation of the prevalence of pain in children in the 5 (th) grade (age range 9-13 years) in schools in the region of the city of Greifswald and the administrative district East Pomerania. This population-based cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of pain in children, the treatment of pain and compared these data with the results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS). METHODS: Data were collected within the extended dental school examination in autumn 2007 including a self-completion questionnaire for the students. Also the parents answered a self-completion questionnaire containing questions on their children's socio-economic status. The pain and sociodemographic questions are compatible with those used in the "German Health Survey for Children and Adolescents" (KiGGS). RESULTS: Students from 19 schools completed a questionnaire on general pain (n=852, proportion of response: 93.2%, mean age: 10 years). Comparing to the KiGGS the overall 3-month prevalence is much higher (95.5%). For boys and girls headache is the pain associated with the most burden ("Hauptschmerz"). 1/4 of the girls (27.9%) and 1/5 (22.4%) of the boys reported their pain with the most burden during the last 3 months with a frequency of at least one time per week. Students with low socio-economic status took medication against pain ("Hauptschmerz") less frequently than students with high socio-economic status. Because of their pain ("Hauptschmerz") students with low socio-economic status visited a doctor less often than students with a mean or high socio-economic status. CONCLUSION: Compared to other epidemiological studies, pain is also a common health problem for children in the city of Greifswald and the administrative district East Pomerania. The data base enables comprehensive conclusions on the health-related state of students in Greifswald/East Pomerania. Further studies should examine additional factors on medication and the degree of doctor?s visits, e. g., parental attitudes towards medication and parental motivation towards the degree of visiting a doctor.

A local neural classifier for the recognition of EEG patterns associated to mental tasks.

This paper proposes a novel and simple local neural classifier for the recognition of mental tasks from on-line spontaneous EEG signals. The proposed neural classifier recognizes three mental tasks from on-line spontaneous EEG signals. Correct recognition is around 70%. This modest rate is largely compensated by two properties, namely low percentage of wrong decisions (below 5%) and rapid responses (every 1/2 s). Interestingly, the neural classifier achieves this performance with a few units, normally just one per mental task. Also, since the subject and his/her personal interface learn simultaneously from each other, subjects master it rapidly (in a few days of moderate training). Finally, analysis of learned EEG patterns confirms that for a subject to operate satisfactorily a brain interface, the latter must fit the individual features of the former.