The driving forces behind oral education/promotion activities among Jamaican dental auxiliaries [abstract]

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors which influence decisions relating to oral health education/promotion activities by dental auxiliaries. METHOD: Fifty per cent of the dental auxiliaries in the Ministry of Health's Schools Dental Health Programme islandwide were systematically selected for completion of a questionnaire on oral health education/promotion. Regional Dental Coordinators also acted as key formants in assessing dental health education/promotion activities. RESULTS: A significant number of auxiliaries (94.7 percent, p<0.03) thought dental health education was an integral part of public health practice. Numerical targets set by the Ministry of Health were more a driving force than were the special needs of children in carrying out oral health education/promotion activities. The use of the lecture method supported by visual aids when conducting sessions was directly related to the availability of resources for carrying out such sessions. The staff was more likely to use the lecture method in pre- and primary schools (p= 0.003). Oral health promotional intervention procedures such as prophylaxis were carried out by a significant number (96.8 percent) of nurses. Atruamatic restorative treatment (ART) 67 percent, sealant 55.6 percent and preventive resin restoration (PRR) 48.4 percent were also done. Lack of material and equipment was the most common reason reported by these persons who were not carrying out ART, sealant, PRR procedures (45 percent, 96.6 percent, 71 percent respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Numerical targets and availability of educational material were the major driving forces for oral health education/promotion in this group. Emphasis on the utilization of other oral health promotion interventions, however, is vital to the maintenance of a reduced decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index in Jamaica. (AU)