A dental health education model for migrant agricultural workers

Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-138)Recently conducted dental health surveys which assessed the oral health\ud care of migrant groups suggest that "adequate treatment" for this population\ud in the United States still leaves much to be desired. Children of migrant\ud workers have a high percentage of decayed teeth, a low percentage of filled\ud teeth, as well as indications of neglected oral hygiene. Among the migrant\ud groups, there is a lack of awareness (knowledge, skills, and perceived priority),\ud and this may be a factor that affects the level of dental disease within this\ud population.\ud The primary purpose of this project was to design, develop, implement\ud and validate a dental health education curriculum guide and program for\ud Mexican/Mexican-American migrant agricultural workers in Ventura County.\ud Specific methodological steps were carried out to develop and implement this\ud comprehensive dental health education curriculum guide and program. A\ud needs assessment/study was conducted and incorporated questions to generate\ud information from the following two areas: dental health education among the \ud residents of a housing community for agricultural workers; and the perceived\ud barriers/problems that Mexican/Mexican-American migrant agricultural\ud workers encounter in receiving health care services. Data obtained through\ud the literature review and needs assessment questionnaires/interviews were\ud instrumental in developing the dental health education model, which was\ud written as a teaching and resource guide.\ud The education model was then "pilot tested" among parents who were\ud Mexican/Mexican-American migrant agricultural workers in Ventura County.\ud Information generated from the pilot program was useful in refining the\ud standardized education model which was then validated by professionals in\ud the fields of dental health