Assessment of a Written Educational Auxiliary Media in Health Education: A Study about Varnish Fluoride

Abstract

Background & objectives: Written educational auxiliary media are often used to enhance societies' health level and prevention of oral diseases. However, low quality educational materials are an obstacle to present effective information and usually these media are not evaluated before publication. Therefore, the present study was carried out to assess a written educational media (pamphlet) about varnish fluoride for mothers. Methods: This descriptive study was performed in 2019 in Yazd. The educational pamphlet was made by the researcher based on mother ' s needs assessment about their pediatric varnish fluoride, literature review as well as comments of health education specialists and pediatric dentists. The content of educational pamphlets was related to oral health, varnish fluoride and its features, how to use fluoride varnish on teeth and the materials and tools needed to carry out this work. In order to assess the pamphlet, Readability (RAM) and Suitability (SAM) tools and Cloze Training Level Index were used. Findings : The difficulty score for readability was 14.4 and the pamphlet was at the good level in terms of content specialization and typographical errors. The percentage obtained from the suitability was 77.95% and the media was as an excellent media. The result of the Cloze assessment shows that the percentage of correct answers was 87 and the text was on the independent level. Conclusion: Considering the simplicity, credit and summarization of content and proper combination of images in the pamphlet, the written educational auxiliary media was appropriate and can be effective in educating mothers in the field of their children's varnish fluoride. Using the methods and results obtained in the present study, as a guideline for assessment of written educational auxiliary media in the field of health behaviors, can be very helpful in eliminating possible deficiencies and increasing the impact of educational interventions.