A Community-Based Oral Health Promotion Program for Migrant Older Adults

Objectives: A study was designed to assess the oral health of older Greek and Italian adults attending community clubs and living in Melbourne, Australia. The study also aimed to evaluate a community-based health promotion intervention on the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of older Greeks/Italians. This paper discusses the design of an oral health promotion program and presents its qualitative and quantitative evaluation. Methods: The study included some 800 older adults who completed an oral health interview in their native language and underwent a detailed dental examination. The oral health promotion intervention consisted of three components: i) a series of oral health seminars held at the clubs in the participants' native languages, ii) the provision of oral care products relevant to each oral health seminar and iii) the production of oral health information sheets. The intervention program was known as the ORHIS (Oral Health Information Seminars/Sheets). Results: A total of 520 older adults participated in the evaluation. At post-test, the experimental groups were significantly more likely than the control groups to have improved oral health attitudes, oral health knowledge, self-assessed physical health status, and dentures hygiene. Positive outcomes were also achieved for self-reported oral hygiene practices and use of oral health services, but not for any of the clinical variables. Conclusion: The qualitative evaluation indicated that the oral health promotion program was effectively delivered in ethnic social clubs, highly acceptable to these communities and valued by participants in the study.Implications of this evaluation for the design and implementation of oral health interventions in migrant older adults groups and clubs are discussed and a number of recommendations made.

Supported by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (1999-0312).