%0 Journal Article
%T Impact of an Oral Health Education Workshop on ParentsĄ¯ Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Perceived Behavioral Control among African Immigrants
%A Maryam Amin
%A Pawan Nyachhyon
%A Maryam Elyasi
%A Muhammed Al-Nuaimi
%J Journal of Oral Diseases
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/986745
%X Purpose. To evaluate the impact of an educational workshop on parental knowledge, attitude, and perceived behavioral control regarding their childĄ¯s oral health. Materials and Methods. A one-time oral health education workshop including audio/visual and hands-on components was conducted by a trained dentist and bilingual community workers in community locations. Participants were African parents of children who had lived in Canada for less than ten years. The impact of the workshop was evaluated by a questionnaire developed based on the theory of planned behavior. Results. A total of 105 parents participated in this study. Participants were mainly mothers (mean age years) who came to Canada as refugee (77.1%) and had below high school education (70%). Paired t-test showed a significant difference in participantsĄ¯ knowledge of caries, preventive measures, and benefits of regular dental visits after the workshop (P valu ). A significant improvement was also found in parental attitudes toward preventive measures and their perceived behavioral control ( ). ParentsĄ¯ intention to take their child to a dentist within six months significantly altered after the workshop (P valu ). Conclusions. A one-time hands-on training was effective in improving parental knowledge, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention with respect to their childĄ¯s oral health and preventive dental visits in African immigrants. 1. Introduction Newcomers in Canada have been recognized to be at higher risk for dental disease and many other health problems at large [1]. With regard to dental health, lack of dental insurance was found to play a big role in the high prevalence of dental disease in this population [1]. However, even for those who had dental coverage through a governmental health benefit program, the underutilization of dental services for younger children has been very common especially the preventive services [2]. Low dental attendance may stem from the trending belief of immigrant families that professional care is needed only when a dental problem arises, rather than seeking out preventive measures [1¨C4]. Preventive health behaviors have been frequently identified as having the potential to reduce mortality and morbidity during childhood [5]. Therefore, measures need to be taken to enhance the understanding of dental diseases and the importance of prevention among recent immigrants. In Canada, African newcomers often face more settlement challenges than any other ethnic minorities maybe because of their particular health beliefs, values, and practices [6, 7]. A
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jod/2014/986745/