An Oral Health Promotion Module for the Primary Health Care Nursing Course in Acornhoek, South Africa.

The severe personnel shortage in the health professions in most developing communities is well documented. This dearth of health workers and the widespread adoption of the primary health care approach (PHCA), requires that health professionals be trained to understand and effectively utilize the skills offered by other disciplines in the health care field. Nurses are expected to play active roles in the promotion of health including oral health, particularly in the rural under-served communities. There is a paucity of oral health education in nursing curricula. This article describes a 4-day module on oral health promotion developed and delivered to 36 nurses as part of a 12-month primary health care nursing (PHCN) training course. The module utilized a variety of educational methods and materials to facilitate and encourage both individual and group learning. The module was evaluated using both student academic attainment and perceptions as outcome measures. The evaluation and the experience of facilitating this module show that an oral health promotion module of short duration can sensitize nurses to the importance of oral health and increase oral health knowledge and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]