Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2025
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Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
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Providing Oral Health Education to Adolescents with Peer-Assisted Learning
R Constance Wiener1, Kimberly Bailey2, Amelia Adcock3
1Dental Practice and Rural Health, West Virginia University, USA, 304 581-1960.
SVOA Dentistry
|February 24, 2022
Summary
Peer-assisted learning did not significantly improve middle school students' oral hygiene behaviors or knowledge compared to traditional handouts. Both methods yielded similar outcomes in this study.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Education
- Pediatric Dentistry
Background:
- Improving children's oral health requires enhanced knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
- Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is explored as a novel strategy to influence pediatric oral health outcomes.
- The study investigates the efficacy of high school students mentoring middle school students in oral hygiene.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of didactic peer-assisted learning versus teacher-provided materials in improving oral health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among middle school students.
- To determine if high school students can positively impact the oral health practices of younger peers.
- To compare the outcomes of near-peer assisted learning with conventional educational handouts.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design was employed with middle school students as participants.
- Participants were divided into two groups: one receiving peer-assisted learning from trained high school students, the other receiving teacher-provided handouts and activity sheets.
- Pre- and post-tests were administered to assess changes in oral health knowledge, brushing, and flossing behaviors.
Main Results:
- Neither peer-assisted learning nor teacher-provided handouts significantly improved brushing or flossing behaviors from pre-test to post-test.
- The teacher-provided handouts group showed significant improvement in oral health knowledge (P<.001).
- The peer-assisted learning group did not show significant improvements in brushing, flossing, or oral health knowledge (P>0.154). No significant differences in knowledge or behavior were found between the two groups post-intervention.
Conclusions:
- Near-peer assisted learning demonstrated comparable outcomes to teacher-provided handouts for improving oral hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in a middle school setting.
- The study suggests that neither intervention significantly enhanced oral hygiene practices (brushing and flossing) among the participating middle school students.
- Further research may be needed to identify more effective strategies for improving pediatric oral health behaviors.
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