Health Promotion International, Vol. 18, No. 3, 209-218,
September 2003
© Oxford University Press 2003
Associations between health promoting schools’ policies and indicators of oral health in Brazil
Rua Silveira Peixoto, Curitiba, PR, Brazil CEP 80240-120 and 1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, The Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London, UK
Address for correspondence: Simone T. Moysés, Rua Silveira Peixoto, 1062 ap. 191, Curitiba, PR, Brazil CEP 80240-120, E-mail: simonem{at}rla01.pucpr.br
No detailed analyses have been undertaken on the effects of Health Promoting Schools on oral health status. The objective of this study was to assess whether the oral health of 12-year-old children in supportive schools, where health promoting policies had been developed, was better than that of children in non-supportive schools. A sample of 1823 12-year-old children in 33 public (government-funded) schools were selected in deprived areas of Curitiba, Brazil. Principal component analysis, multiple regression, meta-analysis and meta-regression were used in the data analysis. Schools with a comprehensive curriculum were more likely to have a higher percentage of caries-free children (ß = 6.27, p = 0.02) and fewer children with dental trauma (ß = -5.04, p = 0.02). The commitment towards health and safety at school was strongly associated with dental trauma, as 9.7% fewer children had dental trauma (p = 0.00) in schools that demonstrated a commitment towards health and safety. At the school level, mother’s education and family income were independently associated with children’s caries experience and dental trauma, respectively. Children in supportive schools had better oral health than those in non-supportive schools. Our results suggest that some benefit can be obtained for the improvement of the oral health of children living in deprived areas if they attend supportive schools.
Key words: dental trauma; Health Promoting Schools; inequalities in health; oral health promotion
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