Evaluation of different health education interventions among preschoolers: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of three different health education methods among preschoolers.

STUDY DESIGN

The study group included 100 preschoolers of the same socio-economic status randomly selected and divided into four groups. Debris index (DI-S) was recorded for all children followed by the dental health education. Group A received dental health education from the Dentist; Group B from the class teacher trained by the Dentist and Group C from the dental residents dressed mimicking cartoon characters. Group D acted as the control group. Post-intervention evaluation program was carried out after 3 months. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test, paired t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) appropriately using the SPSS Version 17.1.

RESULTS

Comparison of pre- and post-intervention data showed that there was a statistically significant improvement in the (DI-S) scores in all groups except the control group. Group C showed a significant improvement compared to the other Groups A, B, and D (P<0.04).

CONCLUSION

Drama as a method of health education can have a bigger impact on the oral health attitude and practices of the preschoolers. These modes can serve to reinforce as well as improve the oral health practices among pre-school children.