Evaluation of an oral health class for homeless, sheltered, pre-school children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an oral health class for homeless, sheltered, pre-school aged children. The literature review showed oral health as an unmet health care need of homeless, sheltered children. The study was conducted at two different local shelters. Each class had three to four students with a total of ten (N=lO) participants from ages three to five. The participants took part in an hour-long oral health class which consisted of completing pre-intervention (Healthy Smile Worksheet and Oral Health Skills List) forms and post-intervention forms (Healthy Smile Worksheet and Oral Health Skills List). The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to analyze the data for this study {a=.05). There was an increase in scores from pre-intervention (M=3.8) to post-intervention (M=6.2) for the Oral Health Skills List and a statistical significant increase in scores was calculated (p = .007; Z=-2.69). There was an increase in scores from preintervention (M=3.2) to post-intervention (M=4.4) for the Healthy Smile Worksheet and a statistical significant increase in scores was calculated (p=.008; Z=-2.64).