Effectiveness of an educational video in improving oral health knowledge in a hospital setting.

INTRODUCTION: Prevention of oral diseases can be achieved by preventive measures. There is an educational component associated to the preventive aspect. Health education is a cornerstone to the success of a preventive programme. Health education has always been regarded as a primary tool in imparting awareness, bringing changes in healthy behaviors and improved life.

AIM: To assess the effectiveness of an Educational Video in improving oral health knowledge of subjects in a hospital setting.

METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted in Outpatient Department, CDER, AIIMS. This was a cross sectional interventional study. In the present study a total of 109 subjects were considered those who completed pre and post intervention questionnaire. In order to assess baseline oral health knowledge, a-14 itemed questionnaire was specially designed, based on the contents of video and was pre-tested on 10 patients. Pre-intervention knowledge was assessed and then the 30-minute video was shown. Following this, post-exposure knowledge was assessed using the same questionnaire. Change in the knowledge score amongst the subjects was assessed pre and post-intervention (showing the video film).

RESULTS: Paired t- test was used to analyze the data. Pre-intervention mean knowledge score was 9.49±2.09 which increased to 11.55±1.60 post-intervention; the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: It was found that increase in knowledge score was statistically significant after exposure to an educational video film in a hospital setting. Incorporation of video in imparting oral health education can be an effective tool in improving oral health knowledge, which can impact the oral health behavior of people and community.