Hybrid Simulation Model To Support The Oral Health Education Planning

Abstract

Health programmes are developed to prevent disease or manage the treatment process. They should be universal enough to target the largest possible group while taking into account the individual predispositions of the recipients. Important factors influencing the scope and design of health programs are also the financial capacity and availability of personnel to implement them. Thus, in addition to the experience of planners, the use of advanced decision support tools is necessary. Hybrid simulation modelling, which refers to the combination of two or more simulation approaches, is widely used to help manage various aspects of health care, including health programmes. The article is a part of a larger study in the area of using simulation modelling to support the planning of dental caries prevention programmes in primary schools in Poland. The paper focusses on one component, which are educational talks. Our goal is to provide a framework for developing simulation models to determine the potential impact of educational talks on children's oral health attitudes towards oral hygiene. The results of the experiments showed that oral health education may results in positive attitudes at the end of primary education in children.