Special education teachers' involvement and perceived barriers to delivering oral health education for students with disabilities-A cross-sectional study.

Autor: Asiri FYI; Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.; International Research Collaboration-Oral Health and Equity, School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia., Tennant M; International Research Collaboration-Oral Health and Equity, School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia., Kruger E; International Research Collaboration-Oral Health and Equity, School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: International journal of paediatric dentistry [Int J Paediatr Dent] 2024 Aug 06. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 06.
DOI: 10.1111/ipd.13258
Abstrakt: Background: Dental caries is prevalent among children, including those with disabilities. Although the World Health Organization recommends school-based oral health promotion (OHP) programmes involving teachers, limited research has explored teachers' roles and perspectives.
Aim: To assess special education teachers' involvement and difficulties regarding oral health education (OHE), attitudes towards OHP and barriers to oral healthcare access for students with disabilities (SWDs).
Design: This descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, involved 264 special education teachers using a validated, self-administered questionnaire, and descriptive and analytical statistics were used for data analysis.
Results: Only 39% of teachers incorporated OHE into their teaching, and just 20.8% received training for OHE delivery. Teachers showed strong support for integrating OHE into the curriculum (84.1%) and a no-sugar policy (78%). There was, however, less support for school-based toothbrushing (39%). OHE barriers included insufficient resources (56.1%), limited knowledge (29.2%) and misconceptions about primary teeth removal (47.4%). The three most common barriers to oral healthcare access were extended waiting lists (75.0%), long waiting times (73.1%) and fear of dental equipment (67.4%).
Conclusion: This study highlights the need for collaboration between healthcare professionals, educators and parents to enhance OHE and reinforce OHP for SWDs within special education and beyond.
(© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry published by BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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