Oral Health Community Workshop
Tips and Tools for Planning a
Community Event
M. Catherine Hollister, RDH, MSPH, PhD
Dental Support Center
United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.

Table of Contents

Purpose...... 1

Planning...... 2

Agenda...... 3

Assessment...... 3

Oral Health Screening...... 5

Oral Health Interviews...... 7

Pretest...... 8

Teaching Session...... 10

Action Plan...... 12

Activities...... 13

Evaluation...... 15

Participant Evaluation Form...... 16

Workshop Evaluation...... 17

Quantitative Evaluation...... 18

Qualitative Evaluation...... 19

Next Steps...... 20

Planning Forms...... 21

Oral Health Community Workshop / 1

Oral Health Community Workshop

Tips and Tools for Planning a Community Event

Purpose

The overall goal of this guide is to assist oral health professionals and other health and human service experts improve the oral health of young children by convening oral health education workshops targeted to parents, grandparents, children, Board members, or other community stakeholders. The purpose of the community workshop is to improve knowledge and assist community members identify and adopt actions that affect oral health. Community workshops can be used to support the IHS Early Childhood Caries Initiative to improve the oral health of infants and children.

Why Conduct a Workshop?

Educate the community

Promote healthy oral health behaviors

Encourage healthy lifestyle changes

Learn from each other

Have fun

All of the Above

Advantages of a Workshop

  • Tailor the education message to the audience
  • Make the message personal
  • Participants decide on an Action Plan
  • Fun activities encourage participation

How to Use the Toolkit

This packet describes all of the components of the toolkit. The packet discusses each major portion recommended for a community event and lists some options for each section. Be careful to select an element for each part of the event. In planning the event, you will need to decide how you will:

Assess the participants,

Provide Education,

Encourage each participant to write a personal Action Plan,

Enjoy an activity to reinforce your education,

Evaluate the impact on each participant,

Evaluate your workshop.

Planning

Your first task will be to plan the event. Time allotted, location, target audience, staff, and resources available will all influence how you conduct the workshop and the activities included. Critical elements to consider:

  • What is the purpose of the workshop (e.g., improve oral health knowledge and behaviors, fluoridate community water supplies, increase access to oral health care)?
  • Who is your target audience (e.g., pregnant women, parents or grandparents, children, Board members, other community members)?
  • When is the best time to hold the workshop (e.g., season, day of the week, time of day, and amount of time)?
  • Where the event should be held (school, community setting, preschool, day care, Tribal offices, or meeting room)?
  • What resources are needed to plan and support the event (e.g., staffing, funds, space, and equipment)?
  • What data are needed to support, conduct, and evaluate the workshop? (e.g., whatdata are needed, are they currently available, what will be collected, what will be used for comparison, how will data entry and analysis be done)?

Agenda

The basic workshop should include 5 parts:

  • Assessment
  • Education/information
  • Action plans
  • Activity
  • Evaluation
  • participant’s evaluation: assess individual impact
  • workshop evaluation: determine what you will retain or change

Look at the table on the following page. You will see each element across the top with choices for each below. You can mix and match, just make sure you have something from each column.

You have choices for each of these that are dependent on your workshop goal and target audience. It is important make sure all of these basic parts are included when planning the event. The following chart provides examples of what could be included in planning an agenda for the workshop.

Assessment

Assessment is needed to personalize your workshop. If the people attending know their oral health needs or knowledge, the entire session will make more sense. If your participants understand, “what’s in it for me”, they will be more likely to pay attention, remember, and act on the information to compare oral health screenings to pre/post tests. Table 1 lists some considerations for selecting one of the assessment methods.

Common methods of assessment are screening,pretest, or interviews. Screening show people’s oral health needs; pretest show people’s knowledge; interviews assess perceptions.

Table 1: Oral Health Screening or Pre/Post Test

Oral Health Screening / Pretest/Post-test / Oral Health Interview
Staff Needed / Dentist or dental hygienist / Any health staff / Dental Staff
Resources Needed /
  • screening forms
  • disposable mouth mirrors appropriate lighting
  • gloves, masks
  • adequate screening space
  • table and chairs
  • biohazard disposal equipment and supplies fluoride varnish (optional)
  • clinical protocols and guidelines
/
  • Pretest forms
  • pens/pencils
  • adequate furniture
  • meeting space
/
  • Interview forms

Target Audience / Community members, school children, preschool children, children and families enrolled in Head Start / Community members (e.g., pregnant women, parents and grandparents), school children / Any
Location / Health Fair, school, other community event / Health Fair, school, community event / Any
Benefits / Individualized oral health information, referrals for untreated dental disease, individualized case management / Assess dental knowledge, quick, few resources needed / Assess knowledge, personal practices, concerns, can be used for persons with low literacy skills
Limitations / Adequate time, facilities, and equipment needed, consent needed for children, screener training and calibration / Only assesses knowledge, limited use for poor readers and those with low health literacy skills. / Will not assess oral health status

Starting with an assessment will add personal meaning for your audience. They will understand, “Why this matters to me”.Rather than presenting “generic” information, by starting with an assessment, your participants will understand what the information means to them individually, and how using the information can improve oral health for themselves or their families.

Depending on the location of the workshop, and other events that may be held at the same time, assessment may be conducted via an individual oral health screening or a pretest.

Oral Health Screening

Use screening if:

  • Dental personnel are available
  • You have adequate time and space
  • Other screening and/or clinical services are being offered
  • Other agencies or clinics are conducting screening (such as IHS or the State)

Benefits of Screening:

  • Each individual receives a report on his/her oral health status. This may increase the overall effectiveness of your workshop because it will make the information VERY PERSONAL to your participants
  • Individuals with unmet dental needs are identified. This allows the clinic or Tribal personnel to provide case management services to ensure that needed oral health care is received.
  • Preventive services such as fluoride varnish or individualized oral hygiene education can be delivered.
  • Oral health status for your community can be determined allowing trends to be watched over time. This information can be used to compare to regional or national data.

Limitations of Screening:

  • Consent is required. For visual only screening, passive consent (parents are informed of the event and asked to notify staff if the DO NOT want their child to participate) is considered the acceptable Standard of Care. Some facilities or Tribes may require active consent for all screenings. Active consent is always needed whenever clinical services such as fluoride varnish are provided.
  • Requires more time than group assessment through a pretest.
  • Dental staff is needed.
  • Participants must be informed that the screening does not replace regular, professional dental care.

Screening Forms and Data Collection.

Sample data collection forms are included in this Toolkit.Each program must decide on what data will be collected, recorded, and analyzed. This should be based on the program goal and target audience. All of the sample data forms conform to the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors’ Basic Screening Survey instructions and the most recent Indian Health Service basic screening. Using these sample forms will ensure comparability to most State and IHS surveys. Before beginning the screening, planners must decide on the level of detail needed in the survey, how often the survey will be repeated, and any indicators that will be added to the basic forms. To ensure reliable data, it is best to calibrate all screeners to explicitly follow survey guidelines and definitions.

Basic Screening Indicators:

  • Untreated Decay
  • Caries Experience
  • Presence of dental sealants
  • Treatment needs

Optional Indicators:

  • Number of decayed, missing, or filled primary or permanent teeth
  • Professional dental visit in the last year
  • Toothache in the last 6 months
  • Tobacco use in the home
  • Dentate status (adults only)
  • Fluorosis

See

for additional indicators and definitions of each.

The Toolkit contains additional information including sample consent forms and screening forms.

Oral Health Interviews

Interviews are a good choice if you have enough time to see each participant individually, but you can’t or don’t want to do clinical screenings. The most important things you will learn during interviews are each person’s perceptions about their oral health and resources that are available to them. You may want to list some specific interview questions that you will ask each person. You should also ask some open ended questions or follow up on a topic or issue identified by your participant.

Sample questions:

Do you have any problems with your teeth?

If you need to see a dentist, where would you go? (This may indicate if a person has a dental home, and if they are a regular or episodic user of the dental care system)

What kind of toothbrush (or toothpaste) do you use? (This may lead to a discussion about home care products)

Have you seen a dentist in the last year?

Have you had a toothache in the last 6 months?

Pretest

Pretests are also a useful assessment tool. This is an excellent option in circumstances where conducting a screening is not possible. If participants have already been screened, a pretest can be an additional assessment tool to determine knowledge.

Even a very basic pretest such as the one included in the packet can be an eye-opener for participants. You may choose to not collect the pretests and just use them to generate a discussion to educate and debunk misconceptions about oral health.

If the pretest in the packet is used, DO NOT distribute the answer sheets at the same time as the pretests. You can distribute the answer sheets during or after your teaching section as a means of reinforcing the information. Answer sheets also make a nice handout for participants to take home. Other pretests may be used in place of the test included in the packet. When developing pretests, planners should consider local issues that are important to the community and include questions on those topics.

You can use the sample pretest included in this Toolkit or design your own. Distribute the pretest as soon as participants enter the workshop. They may begin immediately or as soon as instructed. Allow at least 10 minutes for the participants to complete the pretest. If you want to test knowledge change, you can use the same test at the end of the event as a post-test.

Now that you have decided on a target audience and assessment method, you can select the best teaching method, action plan, activity and evaluation method. As a part of you planning session, fill in a table (See Planning Form#2) that names the major steps of your workshop and the selections for each step.

Example: Your event will target elderly women. You plan a luncheon and expect the event to last 45-60 minutes. Many women in this group do not want their teeth examined when they eat. How will you choose appropriate activities for this event?

Assessment:Individual oral health interviews. Interview space should be private. Interviewer should have information available such as how to make a dental appointment or other needed referrals, and personalized educational pamphlets. Remember, each participant must be interviewed and your education will be a part of the group event, so don’t spend too much time on individual patient education.

Education: Discuss sensitivity, dry mouth, and home care products for these conditions. Discuss other issues that emerged during interviews.

Action Plan: Each participant will decide on this. Some of your participants may want to simply state their plan and not write it down. An alternative to writing individual plans is a group discussion of possible actions. Example: Keep a water bottle available and take frequent sips.

Activity: Bingo

Evaluation: Intent: When will you start your action plan?

Teaching Session

Once the assessment has been completed and your audience is interested, you are ready to present information. Slide presentations, fact sheets, oral hygiene guides, and educational brochures are included in this Toolkit. You can use of these or other educational materials that you like. During your presentation cover important information identified during theevent’s assessment. Place special emphasis on the topics that are most important to your audience based on questions, comments during the screening or pretest, or questions commonly asked of your staff.

Consider the available time and resources before you plan your information section. If you plan to make a slide presentation, make sure you have a computer, projector and a screen. Check to make sure you have everything you need including extension cords and computer cables. Set up and test your computer and projector before the session begins.

Leave time for questions and answers. If you have done a good job matching your information to your audience’s interest, you should have some questions.

Be specific! Your teaching may not be effective if you try to cover too many topics. Focus on a few key informational items and reinforce those. Covering too much information may result in poor retention in your audience. Limit yourspeaking time to no more than 15-20 minutes. With questions and discussion, your entire teaching section should not be more than 30 minutes.

Several Power Point presentations, fact sheets, and pamphlets are included in this Toolkit. Review all of the information resources included and select the most relevant for your situation. You may also find education resources on the IHS and other oral health websites.

•American Dental Association:

•American Dental Hygienists Association:

•Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

•National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research:

•National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center:

•Head Start:

Action Plan

Ask participants to identify at least one action they can take in the next week to improve their oral health. The action plans must be very specific and should be able to be accomplished in the very near future. An Action Plan form is included in the Toolkit.

Audience / Possible Action Plans
Parents/Grandparents /
  1. Clean baby’s mouth daily
  2. Stop night time bottles or use water only
  3. Make an appointment for a dental exam
  4. No soda or juice in a bottle or sippy cup; take water only
  5. Purchase less soda for the family

Head Start/Preschool/Day Care Staff /
  1. Have children brush daily
  2. Include dental topics in lesson plans
  3. Include dental topics in at least 1 parent meeting
  4. Do not bring personal sweet drinks into the building

Elementary School Children /
  1. Brush every day
  2. Drink at least 1 glass of water every day

Middle and High School Children /
  1. Brush and floss every day
  2. Learn the school’s policies on food sales at school
  3. Eat 5 servings of fruits or vegetables every day for the next week

These are just some examples of possible action plans. Note that they are all very specific and can be done immediately. Individuals may choose to write more than 1 action plan, but stress the importance of working on at least 1 action item.

Some plans may need time to develop.For example, Head Start staff may want children to brush daily, but they must address infection control issues before starting. In that case, ask participants to estimate when the plan might start.

Key to Success

Remember this is NOT YOUR action plan.

Your participants must take ownership of the action plan.

That means THEY must decide when and how to activate the plan.

Activities

Activities should not be used without the completing the first 3 sections (i.e., assessment, teaching session, and action plans). Activities should be used to reinforce the previous sections.

The activity section of the workshop is intended to reinforce the information presented and should not introduce new material. Review your activity plan and materials to make sure your audience has the opportunity to think about the key points in new ways. This can be done by playing word games, role playing, or combining questions with a physical activity such as a bean bag toss or basketball free throw. Watching videosis a good teaching tool but is would notbe appropriate as an activity because it is passive and does not test what the participants learned during the education/information section.