Four-level evaluation of health promotion intervention for preventing early childhood caries: a randomized controlled trial

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Leila Basir¹  Ali Montazeri²  Bita Rasteh³  Marzieh Araban⁴ 

[1] Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of dentistry, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran;Mental Health Research Group, Health Metrics Research Center, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, ACECR, Tehran, Iran;School of dentistry, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran;Social Determinants of Health Research center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran;Department of Health Education and Promotion, Public Health School, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran;

关键词: Perceived threat;    Health literacy;    Oral health;    Early childhood caries;    Health education;    Health promotion;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-017-4783-9

 received in 2017-06-13, accepted in 2017-09-21,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundEarly childhood caries (ECC) is the most common dental disease among children, which can affect children’s primary teeth during their teething. This study evaluates an intervention for preventing early childhood caries in a pediatric population in Ahvaz, Iran.MethodThe population of this study (IRCT2017070210804N10) consists of 104 women with 12 to 36 months of age without dental caries referred to a health care center in Ahvaz, Iran. The children were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group in equal numbers. First, the demographic information of participants was collected through a questionnaire containing components of perceived threat, health literacy, and oral health behaviors using a valid and reliable questionnaire. The ECC status of the children was established by a dentist. Control group received “standard well baby care”. The experimental group received standard well baby care in addition to educational interventions, including lecture and group discussion. After 6 months, the participant completed the questionnaire for the second time, and the children’s teeth were reexamined. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15 at a significance level of p < 0.05.ResultsThe mean ages of women and children were 31 ± 6.68 years and 18 ± 7.21 months, respectively. Before the intervention, no significant difference was documented between the groups for the study variables, p > 0.05. However, after the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the perceived threats (41.15 ± 4.46 in the experimental group and 38.26 ± 4.21 in the control group, p = 0.001), health literacy (20.98 ± 2.15 in the experimental group and 19.76 ± 2.70 in the control group, p = 0.01), oral health behaviors (7.75 ± 2.30 in the experimental group and 6.15 ± 2.65 in the control group, p = 0.01), and the incidence of ECC (13% in the experimental group and 35% in the control group,p = 0.001).ConclusionThis intervention had positive effects on the perceived threat, health literacy, and health behaviors; and the intervention could reduce the incidence of ECC. The finding of this study provided a suggestion for evidence-based decision-making processes regarding ECCs prevention programs.Trial registrationIRCT2017070210804N10 (retrospectively registered)

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017