Integrated Oral Health Model in Child Development Center, Maechan District, Chiangrai.

Abstract

The objective of this participatory action research was to study an integrated oral health model which used participatory learning process to change health care behaviors of 957 children in 25 child development centers, Maechan District, Chiangrai. The study was carried out over fourteen months. The process had 3 stages, which were preparation for change, changing stage and evaluation stage. The preparation for change was undertaken for child health problems identification and training for health personnel. The changing stage was aimed at raising parents' concern and attitude and using participatory learning technique to enhance sharing of their experiences. The evaluation stage was implemented through focus group discussion, informal interview and health status checkup. Descriptive Statistic technique and analytic induction. Techniques were used for data analysis. Result learning process based on sharing of child case among parents led to positive changes of the children's oral health care behaviors. For example, bottle feeding decreased from 26.56 % to 4.40 %, eating snack between meals dropped from 83.2 % to 23.1 %, brushing before bed time increased from 12.25 % to 56.32 %. Meanwhile dental caries rate was stable at 54 %, grade 1 and grade 2 malnutrition reduced from 28.60 % to 12.56 % and 1.80 % to 0.5 % respectively. Moreover, children affected from AIDS were accepted by the community and had opportunity to stay at child development centers. The research suggested that integrated oral health activities led more effectiveness and sustainability through community participation learning process.