Dental Health Promotion Program for Rural School Children - Essay Example

1. Conducting School-based dental health screenings for 6 to 10-year-old children.
2. Conducting a school-based dental education program focusing on the importance of oral health and hygiene for 6 to 10-year-old children.

As part of the steps taken to implement this program, two potential partners have been identified - The Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools, and the University of Oklahoma, College of Dentistry. These partners have expressed interest in this program and have volunteered services. Specific resources in terms of human resources, material resources, supplies, equipment, and informational resources have also been identified. Agencies like the International Association for Dental Research that can potentially fund this program, have also been identified. Finally, several processes and outcome evaluation criteria have been developed so that program outcomes can be monitored and evaluated. 

With respect to the implementation process, three rural schools from Oklahoma City have been selected for enrollment into the program using a computer-generated random selection process. Parents of children between the ages of 6 to 10 years were sent a letter informing them of the Dental Health Promotion Program for Rural School Children and asking them to enroll their child. Since only 30% of the parents responded to the letters, the remaining parents were contacted on the phone and approval was taken over the phone. This increased the participation rate to 50%. A total of 500 children have been enrolled in the program and they have undergone the first round of screening and education.