Evaluation of a 7-year school-based community dental hygiene programme in Portugal by high school teachers.
OBJECTIVE
To obtain high school teachers evaluation of a Community Dental Hygiene programme, developed as part of a clinical trial designed to assess the safety of low-level mercury exposure from amalgam restorations.


METHODS
A questionnaire to assess programme evaluation, personal opinion on programme relevance and satisfaction with activities was distributed among teachers. It had a total of 22 questions organized into three groups.


RESULTS
A total of 25 questionnaires were obtained from teachers who participated in the programme. Ninety-two per cent of the respondents had a positive opinion concerning the existence of the programme. Eighty-eight per cent of the teachers believed that the programme changed student's knowledge about dental hygiene. Ninety-two per cent of teachers supported the existence of the programme and 88% of them disagreed with a statement that participation in the programme was a waste of time. Teachers who did not collaborate actively with dental hygiene activities indicated belief that the programme affected school activities (P = 0.003). Teachers who actively participated in the programme believe that dental hygiene activities were important for students (P = 0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
Teacher evaluations of this kind of programme are critical for the development of school-based Dental Hygiene Education programmes. Teachers believe that Dental Hygiene Education is crucial for students' well-being.
Assunção
V A
VA
Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. hoformacao@fmd.ul.pt
Luis
H S
HS
Bernardo
M F
MF
Martin
M D
MD
Leroux
B
B
Derouen
T A
TA
Leitão
J M
JM
D000328:Adult; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000193:education*; D011174:Portugal; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012571:School Dentistry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching