%0 Journal Article
%T School-based educational intervention to improve childrenĄ¯s oral health-related behaviors in rural Bangladesh
%A Ashir Ahmed
%A Fumihiko Yokota
%A Kimiyo Kikuchi
%A Mariko Nishikitani
%A Naoki Nakashima
%A Rafiqul Islam Maruf
%A Yusuke Furukawa
%J -
%D 2017
%R https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v7i2.38853
%X Children in rural Bangladesh have limited access to oral health services. As a pilot project, a one-day one-time oral health educational intervention was conducted at a primary school in Tangail district in Bangladesh. This study assessed the effect of this educational intervention on the childrenĄ¯s oral behaviors using controlled pre- and post-intervention design. Fifty-two students at the intervention school and 37 students at a control school agreed to participate in this study. A baseline survey was conducted for children at both schools using a standardized semi-structured questionnaire. Children at the intervention school received face-to-face dental exercises and a group seminar. Six months after the intervention, a follow-up survey was conducted at both schools to compare changes in childrenĄ¯s oral behaviors at the two schools. The increase in the percentage of intervention-school participants who reported brushing their teeth two or more times per day between the baseline and follow-up surveys was 7.6 times greater than that in the control group (95% CI= 1.7¨C35.1; p<0.009). The increase in the percentage of intervention-school participants who reported brushing their teeth before bed between the two surveys was 7.3 times greater than that in the control group (95% CI=1.6¨C34.0; p<0.001). The findings suggest the importance of skill-based intervention, in collaboration with dentists, school teachers, parents, and community health educators. Future studies on the effectiveness of school-based educational interventions should consider longer-term sustainable behavioral changes in childrenĄ¯s oral health. South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.7(2) 2017: 27-33
%K Health education
%K Oral health behaviors
%K School children
%K Evaluation
%K Bangladesh
%U https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/SEAJPH/article/view/38853