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The evaluation of an oral health education program for midwives in Australia.
Women Birth. 2016 Jun; 29(3):208-13.WB

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Antenatal care providers are now recommended to promote oral health during pregnancy and provide dental referrals. However, midwives in Australia are not trained to undertake this role. To address this shortcoming, an online evidence based midwifery initiated oral health (MIOH) education program was systematically developed as a professional development activity.

AIM

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in improving the oral health knowledge of midwives and assess their confidence to promote maternal oral health post training.

METHODS

The program was evaluated using a pre-post test design involving 50 midwives purposively recruited from two states in Australia. The pre-post questionnaire contained 24 knowledge items previously pilot tested as well as items exploring confidence in promoting oral health and perceptions of the program.

FINDINGS

The results showed a significant improvement in the oral health knowledge (↑21.5%, p<0.001) of midwives after completion of the program. The greatest improvement in knowledge occurred in key areas vital in promoting maternal oral health namely the high prevalence of dental problems and its impact on birth and infant outcomes. The majority also reported being confident in introducing oral health into antenatal care (82%) and referring women to dental services (77.6%) after undertaking the education program.

CONCLUSION

The MIOH education program is a useful resource to equip midwives with the necessary knowledge and skills to promote oral health during pregnancy. The program is accessible and acceptable to midwives and can potentially be transferable to other antenatal care providers.

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

George A
Collaboration for Oral Health Outcomes, Research, Translation and Evaluation (COHORTE) Research Group, Western Sydney University/South Western Sydney Local Health District/University of Sydney/Centre for Applied Nursing Research/Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Liverpool 1871, Australia. Electronic address: ajesh.george@sswahs.nsw.gov.au.
Lang G
Healthy Families, Healthy Smiles, Dental Health Services Victoria, Melbourne 3053, Australia.
Johnson M
Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Sydney 2060, Australia.
Ridge A
Healthy Families, Healthy Smiles, Dental Health Services Victoria, Melbourne 3053, Australia.
de Silva AM
Dental Health Services Victoria, and Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, 3053, Australia.
Ajwani S
Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services/Sydney Dental Hospital/University of Sydney, 2010, Australia.
Bhole S
Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services/Sydney Dental Hospital/University of Sydney, 2010, Australia.
Blinkhorn A
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia.
Dahlen HG
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University/Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Parramatta 2150, Australia.
Ellis S
Camden and Campbelltown Hospitals, South Western Sydney Local Health District, 2170, Australia.
Yeo A
Centre for Applied Nursing Research, Western Sydney University, Liverpool 1871, Australia.
Langdon R
Centre for Applied Nursing Research, Western Sydney University/South Western Sydney Local Health District/Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Liverpool 1871, Australia.
Carpenter L
Dental Health Services Victoria and The Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, Melbourne 3053, Australia.
Heilbrunn-Lang A
Centre for Applied Oral Health Research, Dental Health Services Victoria, Melbourne 3053, Australia.

MeSH

AdultAustraliaFemaleHealth EducationHealth PromotionHumansInfantMiddle AgedMidwiferyOral HealthPerceptionPregnancyPrenatal CareReferral and ConsultationSurveys and Questionnaires

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

26552339

Citation

George, Ajesh, et al. "The Evaluation of an Oral Health Education Program for Midwives in Australia." Women and Birth : Journal of the Australian College of Midwives, vol. 29, no. 3, 2016, pp. 208-13.
George A, Lang G, Johnson M, et al. The evaluation of an oral health education program for midwives in Australia. Women Birth. 2016;29(3):208-13.
George, A., Lang, G., Johnson, M., Ridge, A., de Silva, A. M., Ajwani, S., Bhole, S., Blinkhorn, A., Dahlen, H. G., Ellis, S., Yeo, A., Langdon, R., Carpenter, L., & Heilbrunn-Lang, A. (2016). The evaluation of an oral health education program for midwives in Australia. Women and Birth : Journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 29(3), 208-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2015.10.004
George A, et al. The Evaluation of an Oral Health Education Program for Midwives in Australia. Women Birth. 2016;29(3):208-13. PubMed PMID: 26552339.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - The evaluation of an oral health education program for midwives in Australia. AU - George,Ajesh, AU - Lang,Gillian, AU - Johnson,Maree, AU - Ridge,Allison, AU - de Silva,Andrea M, AU - Ajwani,Shilpi, AU - Bhole,Sameer, AU - Blinkhorn,Anthony, AU - Dahlen,Hannah G, AU - Ellis,Sharon, AU - Yeo,Anthony, AU - Langdon,Rachel, AU - Carpenter,Lauren, AU - Heilbrunn-Lang,Adina, Y1 - 2015/11/06/ PY - 2015/03/06/received PY - 2015/09/29/revised PY - 2015/10/08/accepted PY - 2015/11/11/entrez PY - 2015/11/11/pubmed PY - 2016/12/15/medline KW - Antenatal care providers KW - Education program KW - Midwives KW - Oral health KW - Pregnancy SP - 208 EP - 13 JF - Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives JO - Women Birth VL - 29 IS - 3 N2 - BACKGROUND: Antenatal care providers are now recommended to promote oral health during pregnancy and provide dental referrals. However, midwives in Australia are not trained to undertake this role. To address this shortcoming, an online evidence based midwifery initiated oral health (MIOH) education program was systematically developed as a professional development activity. AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in improving the oral health knowledge of midwives and assess their confidence to promote maternal oral health post training. METHODS: The program was evaluated using a pre-post test design involving 50 midwives purposively recruited from two states in Australia. The pre-post questionnaire contained 24 knowledge items previously pilot tested as well as items exploring confidence in promoting oral health and perceptions of the program. FINDINGS: The results showed a significant improvement in the oral health knowledge (↑21.5%, p<0.001) of midwives after completion of the program. The greatest improvement in knowledge occurred in key areas vital in promoting maternal oral health namely the high prevalence of dental problems and its impact on birth and infant outcomes. The majority also reported being confident in introducing oral health into antenatal care (82%) and referring women to dental services (77.6%) after undertaking the education program. CONCLUSION: The MIOH education program is a useful resource to equip midwives with the necessary knowledge and skills to promote oral health during pregnancy. The program is accessible and acceptable to midwives and can potentially be transferable to other antenatal care providers. SN - 1878-1799 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26552339/The_evaluation_of_an_oral_health_education_program_for_midwives_in_Australia_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -