Children’s Oral Health: Practices of Nurses Following an Educational Intervention

Objectives: The objective of the investigation was to determine if an educational intervention would increase knowledge and the frequency of performing oral health assessments (OHAs) during well-child visits among the nursing profession.
Methods: Thirty-three advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), registered nurses (RNs) or licensed practical nurses (LPNs); were randomized into the control or intervention group. Data collection for the study occurred over a four-week period. An adapted validated 21-question survey designed through Qualtrics© software was used to measure oral health practices on children of all participants at pre and post-test. The electronically delivered intervention was a continuing education (CE) course focused on children’s oral health. Participants in the intervention group received the CE course immediately following completion of the electronic survey whereas; participants in the control group received the CE course content after completing the post-survey at 4 weeks. A trivia question related to children’s oral health was delivered via email at 3 weeks to keep all participant engaged over the 4 weeks. Participants who completed all portions of the study received 1 credit of free CE as an incentive for participating in study. A two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) mixed design statistical analysis was used to determine statistical significance difference (p=<0.05).
Results: There was no significant difference between control and experimental groups at pre and post-test for performing OHAs on children, F (1, 30)= 1.70, p=0.20, r=0.24. The following scores significantly increased from pre to post-test between experimental and control groups: knowledge (F (1, 31)=12.67, p= 0.001, r= 0.93), confidence in performing OHAs (F (1, 30)=10.17, p=0.003, r =0.88, and confidence providing anticipatory guidance to parents (F (1, 30)= 10.78, p=0.003, r = 0.87).
Conclusions: No difference was found between-groups; however, improvement in knowledge, confidence in performing OHAs, and providing anticipatory guidance to parents was identified within groups.