A qualitative exploration to inform an oral health training for disability care workers in Burkina Faso.
Ave Põld, Dan Filwendé Kientega, Jocelyne Valérie Garé and 1 others
PMID 39166367WHAT IT FOUND
Care workers in disability centres in Burkina Faso said they lacked brushes, toothpaste and water to start regular toothbrushing.
They wanted training, and sugary snacks and drinks were common.
Key findings
01Care workers said they lacked training, toothpaste, toothbrushes and sometimes better access to water before regular toothbrushing could start.
02Most care workers wanted to learn oral hygiene, and multiple care workers said they would start toothbrushing once they had training and basic resources.
03Morning snacks were often cakes or cookies taken with sweet juice, chocolate milk or milk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study interviewed care workers, not children or families, so it reports staff views rather than patient outcomes. Only 14 care workers were interviewed, selected by availability, so they may not represent all care workers. Each centre was observed once by different pairs of dental students, and there was no repeated observer check. Some interviews had communication problems because French was not the first language for some care workers. The coding framework was modified and inductive codes were added, so the framework's role was weaker. The study was designed to inform training, not to test whether training improves oral health.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Borrow Foundation. The authors declared no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read care workers' willingness and identified barriers as evidence that an oral health training improves children's oral health. This was a formative qualitative study. It reports care workers' views and observed routines, not measured oral health outcomes.