Teachers' perceptions association with oral health education in the special school for handicapped students

Handicapped students are generally weak in health status as well as health habit such as daily oral hygienic behaviors because health habits chronically affect their health status. The purpose of this study was to identify significant teachers' perceptional characteristics associated with the school oral health education for handicapped students in Korea. A total of 190 teachers with special education licenses participated in the self-administered survey. They were employed in elementary to high schools in Seoul, the capital of Korea. The questionnaires hold general characteristics, oral health education characteristics in their school, oral health education interests, needs, and efficacy. Pearson's correlation and regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Man was 26.3% and the 30 year-old was 40.5%. Elementary school teachers were 39.5% and 59.5% of the teachers had their teaching specialty for the mental handicap. Approximately half of the teachers (50.8%) said moderate for oral health education in their schools. Teachers' interests (r= .24), needs (r= .38), and efficacy (r= .39) of oral health education had significant positive correlations with oral health education in their schools. And teachers' perceptional needs and efficacy of oral health education were significant variables and these two variables explained 24.6% variance of oral health education in schools in regression analysis. Therefore, oral health education for students and their parents provided in schools also positively affect teachers' needs and efficacy and the teachers' positive perception encourage oral health education as well as health care for handicapped students in school.