Implementation and Evaluation of Community Participatory Oral Health Program in School Children from Select Rural Population in Deshmukhwadi, Pune District

Abstract

Introduction: In order to reduce the oral health disparities among school children in rural areas and provide a sustainable program, a pilot project using community health workers was planned. Aim and Objectives: The objectives of the study were to implement and evaluate community participatory oral health promotion and prevention program in school children from select rural population in Deshmukhwadi, Pune district, and also carry out knowledge, attitude and practice survey among health workers and school teachers about oral health. Materials and Methods: One hundred and thirty-nine students, aged 6–13 years, constituted the sample size. The program consisted of oral health education, atraumatic restorative treatment, scaling of teeth with hand scalers, and fortnightly fluoride mouth rinsing. The health workers who were commissioned into medical department by Tata Motors from the same village, after proper training and calibration performed the above-mentioned preventive procedures on children. Results: There was a significant improvement in gingival status (P < 0.001), caries status (P = 0.003), and incipient lesion (P = 0.01) after the program. In the present study, the health workers were successfully trained to provide basic oral care services in rural areas. Furthermore, the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding oral health which was assessed among the health workers and school teachers improved after 16 months of the program. Conclusions: The community participatory oral health promotion and prevention program showed a significant improvement in the filled and initial lesion surfaces in the primary and permanent dentition and the bleeding sextants. Health workers and school teachers showed improvement in knowledge and practice after the program.

Oral health community engagement programs for rural communities: A scoping review

“…Based on the findings of this scoping review, oral health community engagement programs were grouped into four distinct intervention categories that have been successfully implemented in diverse rural communities. The initial category elucidates the community-based dental interventions [ 15 , 22 – 27 ]. The subsequent category delineates the school-based dental interventions implemented in the primary school setting [ 17 , 18 , 28 – 30 ].…”

“…To achieve this, we employed a systematic approach to identify records bearing oral health community engagement programs, which were then categorized into four main intervention groups: community-based, school-based, integrated dental-based, and non-dental volunteer-based strategies. The eligible records that we obtained originated from both developed [ 15 , 25 , 27 , 30 – 34 ] and developing countries [ 16 – 18 , 22 – 24 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 35 , 36 ]. Overall, the results of this scoping review confirmed that oral health community engagement programs were effective in enhancing the knowledge and perception of oral health among children and mothers/caregivers; improving oral health and quality of life of edentulous older adults and children; expanding access to and incorporating oral healthcare services provided by dental personnel; and improving oral health outcomes through the involvement of community health workers and teachers among rural residents.…”

“…Although the overall findings of this scoping review revealed oral healthcare improvements in various rural communities, the findings also suggested that developing countries face a substantial burden of oral diseases [ 16 – 18 , 22 – 24 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 35 , 36 ]. Furthermore, the inclusion of studies evaluating oral health strategies in rural communities of developed countries provided evidence of persistent discrepancies in oral healthcare accessibility and a shortage of oral healthcare professionals, confirming that this burden is of global significance [ 15 , 25 , 27 , 30 – 34 ]. The results of the scoping review also indicated that the methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral health community engagement programs implemented in rural communities of both developing and developed countries were inconsistent ( Table 2 ).…”

“…The current comprehensive scoping review yielded substantial evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of community-based oral health programs in guiding and enhancing the knowledge and perception of oral health among children and mothers/caregivers and improving oral health and quality of life of children and edentulous older adults ( Table 3 ) [ 15 , 23 – 27 ]. Although the objective of these programs was to enhance access to oral healthcare services for all rural communities in developed and developing countries, the general members (patients) of these communities were given lower priority and only received limited benefits from these programs.…”