International Research Collaborative, Oral Health and Equity, School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 5 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia.
Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Mar 6;23(1):214. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09170-8.
Oral health promotion (OHP) is a crucial aspect of dental care, as it aims to improve and protect oral health of individuals. This study aimed to qualitatively explore views of oral health providers in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, on their perceptions of their responsibilities for OHP, as well as the barriers and potential opportunities for implementing health promotion in dental practice.
A convenience sample of 11 oral health providers from Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities were recruited and participated in virtual one-on-one semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis with N-Vivo software.
The results showed that the providers recognized the significant role and responsibility of OHP in improving oral health. However, several barriers hindered their OHP efforts, including a lack of training, funding, time, and a lack of interest in OHP. Potential opportunities for improvement included increasing recruitment of new oral health providers and educators, developing more training programs for providers and the community, and expanding support in terms of finances and logistics.
The findings of the study suggest that oral health providers are aware of OHP, but that both patients and organizations will need to shift their behaviours and perspectives for OHP to be successfully implemented. Further research on OHP in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is needed to validate these findings.
口腔健康促进（OHP）是口腔护理的重要方面，旨在改善和保护个人的口腔健康。本研究旨在定性探讨沙特阿拉伯吉赞的口腔卫生提供者对其口腔健康促进职责的看法，以及在口腔实践中实施健康促进的障碍和潜在机会。
从卫生部（MOH）设施中招募了 11 名便利的口腔卫生提供者，并对他们进行了虚拟一对一的半结构化访谈，使用 N-Vivo 软件进行了归纳主题分析。
结果表明，提供者认识到 OHP 在改善口腔健康方面的重要作用和责任。然而，一些障碍阻碍了他们的 OHP 工作，包括缺乏培训、资金、时间以及对 OHP 的兴趣不足。潜在的改进机会包括增加新的口腔卫生提供者和教育者的招聘，为提供者和社区制定更多的培训计划，并在财务和后勤方面提供更多支持。
研究结果表明，口腔卫生提供者意识到 OHP，但患者和组织都需要改变他们的行为和观点，才能成功实施 OHP。需要在沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）进行更多关于 OHP 的研究来验证这些发现。
