Dental Public Health: Health Science Student Model in Tobacco Control

Abstract

          Sirindhorn College of Public Health, Phitsanulok province, is an organization under Praboromarajchanok Institute for Health Workforce Development, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health. It is an educational institution responsible for personnel production and development of the Ministry of Health. It has an important mission in the field of public health, Dental Public Health, Community Public Health, Pharmacy Technique, and Thai Traditional Medicine in order to provide healthcare services, including the promotion of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Particularly, dental public health students of the College pay attention on being a role model as a non-smoker and a leaderwho has been providing the knowledge learned to faculty members, personnel and students within the College, government officials, people living in the community, and especially students and youths continuously.

          As a result, the College has established a model project of health educational institution in order to deal with smoking and health problems. Dental public health students have been leaders incarrying out important activities since 2007 to 2016 to solve smoking and health problems. The activities are as follows: (1) Dental Public Health Student Leaders’ Potential Development Training to tackle smoking and health problems, (2)Sirindhorn College of Public Health Policy Formulation to become a non-smoking area, (3) Non-smoking Environment, (4) Assessment of Students’ Knowledge Awareness Behaviors and Skills before and after the implementation of the project, (5)Providing students with knowledge of cigarette on the orientation day, (6) Student Leaders’ Potential Development Training  to tackle smoking, (7) Establishing an exhibition to provide knowledge concerning smoking at the College organized by dental public health student leaders, (8)Stop Smoking Campaign parade, sportevents both in and outside the College organized by dental public health student leaders, (9) No Smoking DayCampaign for students and government agencies organized by dental public health student leaders, (10) World No Tobacco Day organized by dental public health student leaders, (11) Inserting content of tobacco control in related study subjects, (12) Making a tobacco control website, and (13) lesson learned activity.

          The project implementation results revealed that there were no smokers among teachers and students. Students received more knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, skills in controlling tobacco, and satisfaction than before the project by 80 percent, which was at a high level. Students paid attentionon tobacco control activities, especially for being a non-smoker, a good role model, and participating in campaigns and community, which they acquired a lot of knowledge. The College has also been awarded by Phitsanulok province which means that Sirindhorn College of Public Health, Phitsanulok province, was a model institution, according to the non-smoker protection law, as well as an individual model for the non-smoking and stop smoking campaigns in three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014.