Abstract

GUMEDE, Sinenhlanhla; SINGH, Shenuka  and  RADEBE, Mbuyiselwa. Oral health care service delivery in schools for special needs in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2024, vol.79, n.1, pp.21-29. ISSN 0375-1562.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sadj.v79i01.16613.

INTRODUCTION: Caries and gingival disease are prevalent oral health issues affecting more than 80% of school-going children including those with special needs attending special schools. Schools play a crucial role in promoting oral health, providing education and identifying issues early. These school-based health programmes are essential for addressing these issues and can reach more than 1 billion children worldwide, as well as school staff, families and the community. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the current delivery of oral health care programmes in the identified special schools by means of a semi-structured interview with school managers. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study design. METHODS: All school managers (principals) who were responsible for the facilitation of the implementation and delivery of oral health services in each of the 22 special schools were invited to participation in the study. Purposive sampling was used to select the managers at the various special schools. Data collection comprised face-to-face, semi-structured interviews to explore the specific provision of oral health-related interventions and programmes (1 interview was conducted per school, n=22). RESULTS: Six emergent themes were present in the study: oral health activities, implementation and evaluation process, implementation challenges, policy content perceptions, dental examinations and oral health prevalence in special schools. Oral hygiene was identified as a priority, with educators and school nurses responsible for school oral health education, supervised teeth brushing programme, pain management, oral examinations in some cases and referral for dental treatments through engaging parents, learners and health workers in oral health promotion, which was supported by the school's health policy with the departmental heads responsible for programme evaluation. However, the implementation of the programmes was impacted by five factors: lack of parental support, lack of professional guidance, lack of resources, lack of support from the oral health department and the Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated these challenges. CONCLUSION: The study reveals that special schools have preventative and promotive oral health programmes, but they need therapeutic or curative services to address unmet treatment needs. Factors affecting these programmes have led to gaps in implementation processes. Together, these findings point to an urgent need for a review of oral health care programmes in KwaZulu-Natal special schools to ensure proper support and collaboration between key stakeholders to reduce negative effects and improve overall oral health programmes.

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