The Effects of Dental Health Education Program by Applying Health Literacy on Dental Caries Prevention Behavior in Grades 4–6 Students, Ban Phru Jut School, Tambon Bo Hin, Amphoe Sikao, Changwat Trang

Abstract

This research was a quasi-experimental study. The objective was to examine the effects of a dental health education program applying the health literacy concept on dental caries prevention behavior among Grade 4–6 students at Ban Phru Jut School, Bo Hin Subdistrict, Sikao District, Trang Province. The sample consisted of 72 Grade 4–6 students from two schools within the responsibility area of Bo Hin Subdistrict during the first semester of the 2024 academic year, divided into an experimental group (n=36) and a comparison group (n=36). The research instruments included a 5-week dental health education program applying health literacy, a questionnaire, and a dental plaque recording form. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Paired Sample t-test, and Independent Sample t-test.
The results revealed that after the intervention, the experimental group’s mean score for dental caries prevention behavior (M=3.40, SD=0.48) was significantly higher than the pre-test score (M=3.18, SD=0.46) and higher than the comparison group’s score (M=3.15, SD=0.41) with statistical significance (p=0.01). Furthermore, the dental plaque score (M=1.70, SD=0.43) significantly decreased compared to the pre-test (M=2.32, SD=0.45) and was lower than that of the comparison group (M=2.46, SD=0.38) with statistical significance (p<0.01). These findings can be applied as a guideline for organizing health education activities for school-age children in Trang Province and other areas, and can serve as a model for developing health promotion media on various other topics in the future.