Planning Health Education/ Promotion Program

Planning Health Education/ Promotion program 1- Sensitization a process by which people are made aware of existence Of certain things: -Behavior -Disease -Service 2- Publicity Elaboration of sensitization procedure (usually this is done before implementation of your health program)

Steps for Planning health education/ promotion program 1- Identifying the needs 2- Establishing objective 3- Activities 4- Resources 5- Identifying the constraints 6- Setting for health education 7- Evaluation

1- Identifying the needs To find out: 1- Present of oral condition 2- Knowledge about oral health& hygiene practice 3- actual oral health & hygiene practices 4- Knowledge about other information in maintaining oral health Through: I- Interview 2- Written questions 3- Demonstrations of his practices 4-Clinical examinations of the oral cavity

2- Establishing objective Should be written in manner by which they can be measured or determined when they are achieved

3- Activities Should be based on established available resources: 1- Personal: the dentist, hygienist, classroom teacher Audiovisual aids 3- Health education material

4- Resources 1- Selected In relation to special need 2- Create awareness, attract attention, arouse curiosity, give information

5- Identifying the constraints Constraint are limiting factors or factors that may stop or slow down project such as time schedule, tradition, facilities & number of targets

6- Setting for health education Wide variety of setting

7- Evaluation Measuring the effect of dental health education *areas to be evaluated: 1- Knowledge 2- Compliance to introduction 3- Behavioral change 4- Incidence

DENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION

Knowledge gaps concerning a number of preventive procedures have been found among researchers, practitioners, and patients Also lack of consensus between researchers and practitioners can be a major barrier to more effective promotion of caries prevention

A relatively low level of serious oral disease in the community does not always reflect positive dental attitudes

One of the major goals of oral health education is Promotion of self-care When incipient disease cannot be recognized, there will naturally be inadequate self-care

It is a basic precept that everyone has a right to the best available knowledge about caring for her own health

The most intensive form of oral health education is one-to-one instruction

“Empty vessel” approach (the patient is empty, and waiting for the health professional to "pour in" the knowledge)

The principles of oral health education : 1-People interpret health messages through the "filter" of their own values and attitudes. These need to be understood, as far as possible, if the educational process is to have any chance of success

2-The most successful education maximizes self-involvement 0f the participants

3-mass media are effective in transmitting simple and consistent messages their value in influencing health behavior seems limited. They have been found effective in some behavior change related to cardiovascular disease, but less so for oral conditions

4- Health professionals have to accept that not all people share their values about the importance of physical health. An acceptance of all components of wellness will help in dealing with the infinite variety of human beliefs on health

5- Dental health education programs can improve knowledge and temporarily improve oral hygiene, but they have failed to demonstrate any direct effect on canes experience

Searching review of dental health education outcomes: (a) educational programs work well at improving knowledge levels; (b) they have a positive but temporary effect on plaque levels; and (c) have no discernible effect on caries experience.

Also the more successful approaches, as shown by evaluations of teachers, administrators, and by the oral health of participants, use a fair degree of active involvement

As a consequence the" SHOW & TELL” approach has now evolved into programs of “SHOW & DO”

Historically dental health education for children has been a high priority for the dental profession because of the high prevalence of dental caries in this age group

The school dental health program provides an opportunity to reach the largest number of children during early stages of development when habit can more easily be modified or changed

School-based oral health education programs Are aimed at more cohesive groups rather than at the public at large

Fundamental components of a school-based program for the promotion of oral health have been described as : 1- Oral health services, meaning: preventive procedures, health screening and treatment, referral, and follow-up 2- Health instruction, to include both personal and community health topics 3- A healthy environment, with attention to all aspects of the school environment that could affect the health of students or school personnel

PROMOTING WATER FLUORIDATION

Helps professionals to promote oral health at the community levels

It is the responsibility of the dentists and hygienists to educate their patients about what fluoridation is and who benefits from it, to have patients support this preventive measure

To do so both should know all about this issue in their area (e.g. the concentration of fluoride in their own community's drinking water, cost estimates for fluoridating such a community, ect)

A thoughtful study from the 1960s, found that political efforts of dentists and other professionals in a local fluoridation campaign got unfavorable reactions for two reasons:

1-The community expected partisans in a political campaign to be motivated by self-interest and to conduct a propaganda campaign to further those interests. Because the health professionals supporting fluoridation were seen as political partisans, their endorsements of fluoridation were not accepted as dispassionate expert testimony.

2-Second, their efforts to maintain professional decorum and to avoid the hurly-burly of open controversy were interpreted as arrogance.

Same study suggests that in a fluoridation referendum, the health professionals can not expect to maintain a detached role, and referendum tactics must be structured accordingly Political tactics vary with each community; (there is no cookbook), although there are some standard issues To do so a hired political expert and consultant in such organizations can be helpful

Any health issue that involves politics demands the use of the media, publicity, education, intensive door- to-door canvassing, telephone campaigns, and getting out the vote on polling day Above all, it means consistent hard work over a long period and starting with solid preparation