Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study
The Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme (POHP) was introduced in Malaysia by the Ministry of Health in 1984 to provide oral healthcare for 5–6-year-old children. Most of its evaluations were directed towards assessing children’s oral health status. Little emphasis has been placed on assessing the pr...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-12-01
|
Series: | Children |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/12/266 |
id |
doaj-f405dc024c524d1e9a4b3c622e2be415 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-f405dc024c524d1e9a4b3c622e2be4152021-04-02T16:20:28ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672020-12-01726626610.3390/children7120266Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative StudyMuhammad Farid Nurdin0Zamros Yuzadi Mohd Yusof1Oral Health Program, Ministry of Health, Level 5, Block E10, Precinct 1, Putrajaya 62590, MalaysiaDepartment of Community Oral Health & Clinical Prevention, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MalaysiaThe Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme (POHP) was introduced in Malaysia by the Ministry of Health in 1984 to provide oral healthcare for 5–6-year-old children. Most of its evaluations were directed towards assessing children’s oral health status. Little emphasis has been placed on assessing the programme feasibility from the perspectives of the oral health personnel. The objective of the study was to explore the facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the POHP using the perspectives of dental therapists (DT) in Selangor state, Malaysia. This study took a qualitative approach using focus group discussion (FGD) as the data collection method. The data were transcribed verbatim followed by thematic analysis using Nvivo software. A total of 13 FGDs had been conducted involving 114 DT. The main facilitators were good dental teamwork, assistance from schools and teachers, sufficient training of DT, adequate support from dental administration, and good cooperation from the children. The main barriers were lack of financial support, manpower, time, inadequate support from preschools and children, language barrier, and accessibility to sugary food and drinks at schools. The study provided important insights regarding the POHP that would be useful for programme improvement through policy changes, workforce training, and enhanced school participation.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/12/266preschool childrenoral healthevaluationdental therapistsMalaysia |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Muhammad Farid Nurdin Zamros Yuzadi Mohd Yusof |
spellingShingle |
Muhammad Farid Nurdin Zamros Yuzadi Mohd Yusof Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study Children preschool children oral health evaluation dental therapists Malaysia |
author_facet |
Muhammad Farid Nurdin Zamros Yuzadi Mohd Yusof |
author_sort |
Muhammad Farid Nurdin |
title |
Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study |
title_short |
Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study |
title_full |
Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study |
title_fullStr |
Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme in Malaysia from the Perspective of Dental Therapists: A Qualitative Study |
title_sort |
facilitators and barriers to the implementation of preschool oral healthcare programme in malaysia from the perspective of dental therapists: a qualitative study |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Children |
issn |
2227-9067 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
The Preschool Oral Healthcare Programme (POHP) was introduced in Malaysia by the Ministry of Health in 1984 to provide oral healthcare for 5–6-year-old children. Most of its evaluations were directed towards assessing children’s oral health status. Little emphasis has been placed on assessing the programme feasibility from the perspectives of the oral health personnel. The objective of the study was to explore the facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the POHP using the perspectives of dental therapists (DT) in Selangor state, Malaysia. This study took a qualitative approach using focus group discussion (FGD) as the data collection method. The data were transcribed verbatim followed by thematic analysis using Nvivo software. A total of 13 FGDs had been conducted involving 114 DT. The main facilitators were good dental teamwork, assistance from schools and teachers, sufficient training of DT, adequate support from dental administration, and good cooperation from the children. The main barriers were lack of financial support, manpower, time, inadequate support from preschools and children, language barrier, and accessibility to sugary food and drinks at schools. The study provided important insights regarding the POHP that would be useful for programme improvement through policy changes, workforce training, and enhanced school participation. |
topic |
preschool children oral health evaluation dental therapists Malaysia |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/12/266 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT muhammadfaridnurdin facilitatorsandbarrierstotheimplementationofpreschooloralhealthcareprogrammeinmalaysiafromtheperspectiveofdentaltherapistsaqualitativestudy AT zamrosyuzadimohdyusof facilitatorsandbarrierstotheimplementationofpreschooloralhealthcareprogrammeinmalaysiafromtheperspectiveofdentaltherapistsaqualitativestudy |
_version_ |
1721556960215564288 |