EFFECTS OF ORAL HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM OF PARENTS FOR CHILDREN IN THE BAN NONSAMNAK CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER MUEANG DISTRICT, SI SA KET PROVINCE

Abstract

     This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effects of oral health promotion program of parents for children in the Ban Nonsamnak child development center mueang district, Si Sa Set province. The sample consisted of 58 parents, divided into two groups: Intervention group: 31 parents of preschool children at the Ban Nonsamnak Child Development Center and comparison group: 27 parents of preschool children at the Nong Yang Nong Muang Community Child Development Center. The intervention group received the program for 12 weeks, while the comparison group did not receive the program. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered twice, before and after the intervention, between 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented as percentages, means, standard deviations, medians, and 25th and 75th percentiles. The paired t-test was used to compare the differences in mean scores of the variables within the groups, and the independent t-test was used to compare the differences between the groups. The significance level was set at 0.05.
     The results showed that the mean differences in the parents' knowledge of oral health care, attitudes towards oral health care, perceived risk of oral health problems, perceived severity of oral health problems, perceived benefits of oral health care, perceived barriers to oral health care, social support for oral health care, and oral health care behaviors for preschool children in the intervention group were significantly higher than those in the comparison group at the 0.05 significance level.