142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Effectiveness of a workplace oral health promotion intervention program on oral health status for employees in Taiwan

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Tzu-Hsien Lin, Ph.D. , Department of Dental Hygiene & Department of Occupational Safety and Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
Chin-Shun Chang, DDS, MPH, Ph.D. , Taiwan Society of Oral Health, Keelung, Taiwan
Chen-Yi Lee, PhD , Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Hsiao-Ling Huang, Dr.PH, MPH , Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Ruey-Yu Chen, PhD , School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Chun-Chan Ting, DDS, PhD , School of Dentistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Jia-Hua Yu, MS , Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Chih-Chia Chen , Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Wen-Yao Chang , Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Shu-Mei Chiang, MS , Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Ware, Taichung, Taiwan
Yu-Wei Huang, MS , Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Ware, Taichung, Taiwan
  
Background

Workplace oral health promotion (WOHP) program is not common in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to develop a WOHP program and evaluate its effectiveness on the differences of oral health knowledge, attitude and oral health status of workers between baseline and follow-up.

Methods

We used a pre/post-test study design. Overall, 86 managers and 302 employees were recruited from six workplaces in the WOHP program. The WOHP program consisted of 2-hour group education session in oral health with a brochure and additional one-hour session related to benefits of oral health program in workplace for managers. The curriculum included oral health-related knowledge, dental hygiene techniques and demonstrations. Pre- and post- oral examinations were implemented by dentists. After the oral examination, participants received a 10-min personal oral health instruction by a trained oral health educator. The data were collected using self-report questionnaires.

Results

After intervention, the average score of oral health knowledge and attitudes of the participants increased from 13.11 to 14.65 (p <0.001) and from 51.76 to 52.80 (p = 0.005), respectively. The average number of filled teeth increased from 6.07 to 7.07 (p <0.001). After intervention, the community periodontal index, plaque index, and plaque control record reduced from 2.01 to 1.81 (p = 0.009), from 1.02 to 0.85 (p = 0.002), and from 0.66 to 0.49 (p <0.001), respectively.

Conclusion

Knowledge, attitude and oral health status was significantly improved after WOHP intervention, suggesting the WOHP program in Taiwan was an effective intervention model for employees.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Advocacy for health and health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Design an effective workplace oral health promotion program

Keyword(s): Oral Health, Health Promotion and Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was the leader of the workplace oral health promotion program in Taiwan during 2012~2013, which contributed to the main results of this poster presentation. In the meantime, I served as both an associate professor of Department of Occupational Safety and Health and the Director of Department of Dental Hygienist, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. The multiplicity of my majors made the program work very well.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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