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Development of a computerized, client-administered, dental health-related nutritional assessment and education program
Abstract
The hypothesis of the research was that a dental health-related, client-administered, computerized nutritional assessment and individualized education program would be appropriate, feasible, and effective in a dental client setting. Two surveys of dental facilities in Western Massachusetts and Portland, Oregon were conducted to establish a need for nutritional assessment and education in dental practices, to define an appropriate time allowance for on-site nutritional education programs, and to identify the target population for such a program. A 10-20 minute time allowance was subsequently set for the proposed program which was targeted at English-speaking adult dental clients with diverse educational backgrounds. A FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) was chosen as the method of choice to rapidly assess dietary intake of the nutrients of concern in dental health. An abbreviated 38-item Dental Food Frequency Questionnaire was adapted from the FFQ component of the Health Habits and History Questionnaire developed by Block et al at the National Cancer Institute. The dietary assessment was supplemented by questions designed to assess intake of foods associated with development of plaque and cariogenicity. A brief educational presentation was designed to address the same dietary issues. HyperCard$\circler$ software was used to adapt the assessment and educational components to the Macintosh$\circler$ computer. Strategies were employed to make the prototype rapidly functioning, visually appealing, and simple for non-computer-literate persons to operate. The final prototype utilized 426 Kbytes of memory. The prototype was field tested with 20 clients in an urban dental practice. The program was easily operable by clients and required from about 10 to 25 minutes to complete the assessment. A pre- and post-knowledge test indicated that the educational component impacted client knowledge positively in the short term.
Subject Area
Nutrition|Health education
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Marilyn Dale, "Development of a computerized, client-administered, dental health-related nutritional assessment and education program" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9219453.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9219453