scholarly journals The effectiveness of behaviour change interventions delivered by non-dental health workers in promoting children’s oral health: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262118
Author(s):  
Mehreen Riaz Faisal ◽  
Masuma Pervin Mishu ◽  
Faisal Jahangir ◽  
Sabahat Younes ◽  
Omara Dogar ◽  
...  

Objectives Dental caries is the most common preventable childhood condition. Non-dental professionals and health workers are often well placed to support parents in adopting positive oral health behaviours for their children. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions and their individual component behaviour change techniques (BCTs), that were delivered by non-dental professionals and health workers. Methods A systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, TRoPHI and PROQUEST from inception until March 2021 was conducted. Randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies for improving oral health outcomes in children were included. Quality assessment was carried out using Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and ROBINS-I tool. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger’s regression intercept. Effect sizes were estimated as standardised mean difference (SMD) and odds ratio/risk ratio for proportions. Meta-analyses were performed for studies reporting mean decayed, missing, filled surfaces (dmfs) and mean decayed, missing, filled, teeth (dmft) indices. Behaviour change technique coding was performed using behaviour change technique taxonomy v1 (BCTTv1). Results Out of the 9,101 records retrieved, 36 studies were included with 28 showing a significant effect either in clinical and/or behavioural/knowledge outcomes. Most studies (n = 21) were of poor methodological quality. The pooled SMD for caries experience showed statistically significant result for caries prevention at surface level -0.15 (95% CI -0.25, -0.04) and at the tooth level -0.24 (95% CI -0.42, -0.07). In 28 effective interventions, 27 individual BCTs were identified and the most frequently used were: “Instructions on how to perform the behaviour” and “Information about health consequences”. Conclusion There is low quality of evidence suggesting non-dental professionals and health workers may help improve oral health outcomes for children. To confirm these findings, further high-quality studies incorporating a variety of BCTs in their interventions for adoption of good oral health behaviours are needed.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajesh George ◽  
Mariana S Sousa ◽  
Ariana C Kong ◽  
Anthony Blinkhorn ◽  
Tiffany Patterson Norrie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Early childhood caries is a common chronic childhood disease and maternal oral health is a risk factor. Improving the oral health behaviours of pregnant women/young mothers can positively influence the oral health of children and reduce their caries risk. Such preventative strategies have been undertaken by non-dental professionals producing mixed results encompassing various interventions across the perinatal period. However, no comprehensive review of these studies has been undertaken. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of maternal oral health programs undertaken during the antenatal and/or postnatal period by non-dental health professionals to reduce early childhood caries. Methods: A systematic search of five databases was undertaken using key search terms. Studies were included if they (a) involved quantitative study designs with a control; (b) were published in English; (c) reported on interventions delivered by non-dental professionals (d) delivered the intervention to expectant mothers or mothers with young infants up to 24 months; (e) measured outcomes when the child was under 5 years; (f) measured changes in oral health outcomes of children clinically and oral health behaviours of mothers or children. No restrictions were placed on the study quality and setting. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and involved interventions delivered by diverse non-dental professionals across the antenatal (n=1), postnatal (n=6) and perinatal period (n=2). Most studies were of low methodological quality (n=6). The interventions focussed on oral health education (n=8), dental referrals (n=3) and oral health assessments (n=1). Interventions conducted in either the postnatal or antenatal periods showed meaningful improvements in children’s clinical and mother’s behavioural oral health outcomes. The outcomes appear to be sustained when a suite of interventions were used along with referral reminders. There were mixed results from interventions across the perinatal period. Conclusions: Non-dental professionals can promote maternal oral health by providing oral health education, risk assessment and referrals. Combining these interventions could provide a sustained improvement in oral health outcomes for children although current evidence is weak. More high-quality studies are needed to confirm these findings and determine whether the antenatal and/or postnatal period is best suited to deliver these interventions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajesh George ◽  
Mariana S Sousa ◽  
Ariana C Kong ◽  
Anthony Blinkhorn ◽  
Tiffany Patterson Norrie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Early childhood caries is a common chronic childhood disease and maternal oral health is a risk factor. Improving the oral health behaviours of pregnant women/young mothers can positively influence the oral health of children and reduce their caries risk. Such preventative strategies have been undertaken by non-dental professionals producing mixed results encompassing various interventions across the perinatal period. However, no comprehensive review of these studies has been undertaken. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of maternal oral health programs undertaken during the antenatal and/or postnatal period by non-dental health professionals to reduce early childhood caries. Methods: A systematic search of five databases was undertaken using key search terms. Studies were included if they (a) involved quantitative study designs with a control; (b) were published in English; (c) reported on interventions delivered by non-dental professionals (d) delivered the intervention to expectant mothers or mothers with young infants up to 24 months; (e) measured outcomes when the child was under 5 years; (f) measured changes in oral health outcomes of children clinically and oral health behaviours of mothers or children. No restrictions were placed on the study quality and setting. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and involved interventions delivered by diverse non-dental professionals across the antenatal (n=1), postnatal (n=6) and perinatal period (n=2). Most studies were of low methodological quality (n=6). The interventions focussed on oral health education (n=8), dental referrals (n=3) and oral health assessments (n=1). Interventions conducted in either the postnatal or antenatal periods showed meaningful improvements in children’s clinical and mother’s behavioural oral health outcomes. The outcomes appear to be sustained when a suite of interventions were used along with referral reminders. There were mixed results from interventions across the perinatal period. Conclusions: Non-dental professionals can promote maternal oral health by providing oral health education, risk assessment and referrals. Combining these interventions could provide a sustained improvement in oral health outcomes for children although current evidence is weak. More high-quality studies are needed to confirm these findings and determine whether the antenatal and/or postnatal period is best suited to deliver these interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
Jessica Holloway

Regular dental attendance is a key oral health behaviour. Behaviour change interventions are increasingly being used to promote positive oral health behaviours. A systematic approach to understanding behaviour has led to the development of frameworks which aim to guide the process of designing behaviour change interventions. One such framework is the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). This article aims to explore and identify barriers to regular dental attendance which may be targeted using behaviour change interventions based on the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Behaviour model (COM-B) and the BCW, and suggests potential behaviour change techniques which could be utilised into a behaviour change intervention with the aim to promote regular dental attendance.


Author(s):  
Katherine H KACZMARCZYK ◽  
Kara A GRAY-BURROWS ◽  
Karen VINALL-COLLIER ◽  
Peter F DAY

Abstract Background Oral health worldwide needs improving: untreated dental caries is the most common health condition affecting people globally. Mobile applications (apps) have potential to provide preventative oral health interventions. This study aimed to investigate the quality of available oral health promotion apps, assessing information provided and the barriers to oral health addressed using psychological frameworks. Methods A content assessment of oral health promotion apps targeted at adults in the UK iTunes store was conducted. The quality of 22 apps was assessed against 3 objective indices derived from the Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit, Theoretical Domains Framework and Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy. Index scores were calculated and descriptive analyses were completed. Results On average, four Delivering Better Oral Health messages, seven Theoretical Domains Framework components and eight Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy components were addressed per app. The most common components were: ‘take at least two minutes to brush’ for the Delivering Better Oral Health index, ‘goals’ and ‘intentions’ for the Theoretical Domains Framework index and ‘goal setting (behaviour)’ for the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy index. Conclusion The quality of information available in oral health apps requires improvement with the majority addressing only a few barriers to oral health. Currently, there is no recognized scale for evaluating oral health apps: this study provides a suggested method for future app evaluation. There is opportunity for a new app to be created based on health behaviour change theory which includes all the Delivering Better Oral Health messages.


Author(s):  
Blánaid Daly ◽  
Paul Batchelor ◽  
Elizabeth Treasure ◽  
Richard Watt

Many dental practitioners become very frustrated with their patients when they fail to follow advice given to improve their oral health. This failure can often be interpreted by dentists as a sign of disinterest, lack of motivation, or sometimes even stupidity! Such an approach helps no one. As has already been identified, to successfully promote oral health the dental team need to work with their patients in a number of ways. For example, to help them select a healthy diet, maintain good oral hygiene, or stop smoking, the dental team need to understand what factors influence these behaviours and how they can be altered successfully. This chapter therefore aims to review behaviour change to help you understand more fully how you as a clinician can help your patients successfully alter their behaviour to promote and maintain their oral health. Theories and models of behaviour change will be reviewed and consideration will also focus on the practical factors influencing the process of change. Before reviewing the theoretical detail of behaviour change it is important to restate a core principle of public health, that is, the importance of the underlying social determinants of health. A wealth of evidence has highlighted that individual behaviours have a relatively limited influence on health outcomes compared to economic, environmental, and social factors (Marmot and Wilkinson 2006 ; Wilkinson 1996). Indeed, oral health behaviours play a somewhat minor role in explaining oral health inequalities (Sabbah et al . 2009; Sanders et al. 2006). Any exploration of individual behaviour change therefore needs to take into account the influence of the broader factors operating at a macro level. However, for health professionals working with individual patients, helping people change their behaviour is still an important task within their clinical practice. Traditionally, health professionals have focused largely upon giving their patients information in an attempt to change their behaviour. Such an approach has, however, been mostly unsuccessful at securing long-term changes in behaviour (Sprod et al. 1996; Yevahova and Satur 2009).


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Hedin ◽  
Cecilia Katzeff ◽  
Elina Eriksson ◽  
Daniel Pargman

Food production and consumption present major sustainability challenges, and finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of food, for example through behavioural changes by consumers, is becoming increasingly important. In recent years, digital interventions have become important tools to change behaviours in many areas. In this review, we evaluate the status of current scientific knowledge of digital behaviour change interventions for sustainable food consumption practices. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist for how to conduct systematic reviews, we searched multiple databases for papers containing terms related to food, sustainability and digital behaviour change interventions. Only studies where the digital interventions were actually implemented and evaluated from a behaviour change perspective were included, resulting in 15 primary studies in the final review. The quality of the studies was evaluated from a behaviour change perspective, and the approaches used were categorised using two intervention frameworks, the Behaviour Change Wheel and the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy v1. The results show that all of the included studies had major quality issues when evaluated from a behaviour change perspective. This means that we could not find any evidence regarding whether the digital behaviour change interventions examined worked or not. Most studies further lacked theoretical grounding or a clear approach to how or why they should be effective for behaviour change for more sustainable food consumption practices. Our main recommendation for future research in the field is to expand from the current exploratory phase to conducting scientifically rigorous studies of higher quality, more thoroughly grounded in behaviour change theory and methods. Furthermore, based on our study, we suggest changes to the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy v1.


2021 ◽  
pp. 91-106
Author(s):  
Grace A. Carroll ◽  
Jenny M. Groarke ◽  
Lisa Graham-Wisener

Abstract In this chapter, three key frameworks will be outlined, as well as how they fit together. This will allow animal welfare scientists to develop human behaviour change plans from start to finish. These three frameworks are (i) the theoretical domains framework (TDF; Michie et al., 2005); (ii) the behaviour change wheel (BCW; Michie et al., 2011, 2014); and (iii) the behaviour change technique taxonomy (BCTT; Michie et al., 2013). Each framework is described, and guidance is provided for applying these models to design effective human behaviour change interventions. Common pitfalls are outlined, and animal welfare examples are provided throughout to aid understanding.


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