The study assessed the effectiveness of the implementation of the school-based dental care program of Centro Escolar University, Manila,Philippines.
Methods:
The beneficiaries of the program during its three-year implementation were compose of grade school children,their parents,teachers,school personnel and dental students, totalling 750.From these,594 were randomly selected.Areas for assessment include attainment of program objectives,implementation,management,facilities and training. Questionnaires were floated to the respondents,and then retrieved that same day. Personal interviews were conducted with direct observations simultaneously done by the researchers.Before oral examinations were performed,inter-examiner assessment was done using Kappa Statistics.Plaque indices were taken and recorded from the beneficiaries of the program.For treatment of data,frequency,percentage,mean and standard deviation were used.
Results:
Of the 594 respondents,320 were female and 274 male,11-17age range ,mostly schoolchildren,single and Catholics.Findings revealed the following;attainment of program objectives(mean-4.26 SD.42 verbal interpretation-agree)implementation of program content(m=4.29,SD=.61,vi=agree)management(m=4.27,SD=.58,vi=agree) facilities(m=4.31,SD=.62,vi= agree)and training (m=4.02,SD=.67,vi=agree).However, Plaque index scores revealed that plaque can still be detected at the lower first molar cervical area(m=1.20,SD=1.20).But very minimal on incisors(m=.61,SD.89).The three main problems of the dental care program were lack of funds, lack of coordination between school officials and dental faculty on the activities of the program and lack of manpower on the part of the program implementers.
Conclusion:
Based on the findings of the study,the following conclusions can be drawn;
1.That in the 5 areas of assessment namely;attainment of implementation, management,logistics and training,the respondents agreed that the program was effective.
2.Though Plaque index scores revealed presence of plaque mostly on molar areas and very minimal on incisors.the researchers concluded that program was effective but needs improvement on follow-up and maintenance.
3.The three main problems of the dental care program were lack of funds,lack of coordination between school officials and dental faculty on the activities of the program and lack of manpower on the part of the program implementers.