As practitioners dedicated to enhancing children's health outcomes, it is crucial to leverage data-driven models and research to inform our interventions. One such model, the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, has shown promising results in improving oral health among primary school students. A recent study titled Design, implementation, and evaluation of a PRECEDE-PROCEED model-based intervention for oral and dental health among primary school students of Rafsanjan city: a mixed method study, offers valuable insights for practitioners aiming to improve their skills and outcomes.
The study implemented a comprehensive intervention based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, targeting primary school students in Rafsanjan city. The model is a planning, participatory, and community-based approach that focuses on predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors to promote health behaviors. Here’s a breakdown of how the study was conducted and its significant findings:
Study Design and Methodology
The intervention involved multiple phases:
- Social Assessment: Evaluated the impact of oral and dental health on the quality of life of children and their families through focus group discussions and literature reviews.
- Epidemiological, Behavioral, and Environmental Assessment: Identified key indices related to oral health, such as the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), and behavioral factors like brushing habits.
- Educational and Ecological Assessment: Identified predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors affecting brushing behavior through interviews and focus group discussions.
- Administrative & Policy Assessment and Intervention Alignment: Coordinated with school authorities and designed an intervention program that included educational sessions for students, parents, and teachers.
Key Findings
The study revealed several critical factors influencing children's brushing behavior:
- Predisposing Factors: Knowledge, attitude, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, subjective norms, observational learning, and motivation to comply.
- Enabling Factors: Perceived barriers, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, and brushing skills.
- Reinforcing Factors: Social support and social reinforcement from parents, teachers, and school health educators.
The intervention significantly improved the students' brushing behavior and the scores of the above constructs. For instance, the percentage of students brushing their teeth at least twice a day increased from 64.7% to 96.6% post-intervention.
Implications for Practitioners
For practitioners, the study underscores the importance of a structured, participatory approach in designing health interventions. Here are some actionable insights:
- Utilize the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to systematically identify and address predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors affecting health behaviors.
- Engage key stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and health educators, to provide comprehensive support and reinforcement for behavior change.
- Incorporate educational sessions that not only impart knowledge but also address attitudes, self-efficacy, and perceived barriers to ensure sustainable behavior change.
By adopting these strategies, practitioners can enhance the effectiveness of their interventions, leading to better health outcomes for children. For further reading and to delve deeper into the research, please follow this link: Design, implementation, and evaluation of a PRECEDE-PROCEED model-based intervention for oral and dental health among primary school students of Rafsanjan city: a mixed method study.
