Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Oral Hygiene among School Children in St. Bennedict School, Bangalore

Abstract

Introduction: - Oral hygiene is the important part of the basic care. It helps to maintain a healthy state of the mouth, teeth, gums and lips. Brushing teeth removes food particles plaque and bacteria, messages the gums and relieves discomfort resulting from unpleasant odors and taste. Complete oral hygiene gives a sense of well being and thus can stimulate appetite. Objectives: - 1.To assess the pre-test knowledge regarding oral hygiene among school children.2.To assess the post-test knowledge regarding oral hygiene among school children.3.To assess the effectiveness of structured teaching programme in terms of improvement in knowledge regarding oral hygiene among school children.4.To find an association between levels of knowledge regarding oral hygiene among school children and selected demographic variables. Design:-Pre-experimental design (one group pre-test post-test design) was used to study effectiveness of STP. 30 school children from St.Benedict School, Bangalore were recruited by non-probability convenient sampling method. Necessary administrative permission was obtained from concerned authority. Structured interview schedule was used to elicit the baseline data and structured questionnaires were used to elicit the knowledge of school children. Setting:-The study was conducted at St.Benedict School, Bangalore, 30 samples were selected for the present study. Result: - The study revealed that among 30 school children, 2 (6.66%) school children had adequate knowledge, 28(93.33%) school children had moderately adequate knowledge & there was no inadequate knowledge found in the post-test score. The mean pre-test knowledge score of school children was 10.1, whereas the mean post-test knowledge score was 18.8. The obtained ‘t” value was 10.48 which was found statistically significant 0.05 levels. Conclusion :- The study concluded that the structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding oral hygiene among school children in selected school, Bangalore carried out in the study was found to be effective in the improving knowledge of school children as evidenced by the significant change between pre-test and post-test knowledge score.