Sources of oral health information and teaching materials for primary schoolteachers in Rungwe district, Tanzania

Abstract

To determine the various major sources of Oral Health Education (OHE) for primary school teachers in Rungwe District, Mbeya Region, Tanzania. Cross-sectional study using a self-administered close-ended questionnaire. 232 rural and urban in-service primary school teachers and 195 final-year-teacher trainees at college. Socio-demographic factors, common teachers' OHE sources, common sources of OHE teaching aides, and teachers' previous OHE training opportunity. Textbooks and a dental clinic were found to be the most common sources of OHE for a large proportion of in-service and trainee teachers, while neighbours and a teachers' college were reported by a smaller proportion. The District Dental Officer was the only significant source of oral health education teaching materials in this study. While primary schoolteachers' sources for oral health education information was mainly textbooks and from a dental clinic, the source of teaching materials was largely a District Dental Officer. Details on the particular sources were not sought and further studies are therefore required. However, the findings highlight a need for standardised and equally distributed oral health material sources both for valid information and for teaching in schools.