Comparison of peer led and teacher led oral health educational program among students

• Main Authors: Afsaneh Karami, Alireza Heidarnia, Fatemeh Zarei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Campinas 2019-11-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Oral Sciences
• Subjects: Oral health; Health education; Peer education.
• Online Access: https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/bjos/article/view/8657260

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Peer-Led Education (PLE)comparing with the Teacher-led education(TLE) approach about oral health behavior of female school- student aged at 6-12 in district 6 of Tehran, Iran. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study. Two primary public schools in Tehran district 6, were selected by simple random sampling and from each school one class considered for PLE and TLE. 120 fourth grade female students of the 6th district of Tehran were enrolled for study. All participants were assessed about knowledge, attitude, and practice in oral health by Pre-test one month before the intervention program. A valid questionnaire in Persin version used for data gathering. Two representatives including teacher and students from both groups trained under the supervision of a health educator. In PLE each of the six students trained 10 other students in the middle of the day per three consecutive sessions. In TLE one teacher trained one class with about 30students. Both education program set up at the same time and duration. The educational materials included educational short films, animation, and booklet powered driven by Oral Health Burea, Iran health ministry. Apart from, the intervention included role play and storytelling too. The evaluation had done by post-test with the same tool one month later after the intervention. Results: The average mean score of the knowledge, attitude, and practice in both group after educational intervention significantly increased (P<0.05).The mean score of knowledge, attitude, and practice in PLE have been effective than TLE. Conclusion: Health education with peer education approach is effective in improving oral health behavior in children at school age.