This experimental study will be conducted on 100 mothers of children aged 3 to 6 years old under the coverage of Healthcare Center No 1 in the city of Ilam in two groups, intervention and control. The educational intervention will be based on Health Belief Model components in the intervention group in which perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits, and barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action as well as oral health behaviors of mothers to children and dental plaque index are measured.
The study population is composed of mothers of children aged 3 to 6 years old referred to Healthcare Center No 1 in the city of Ilam.
After providing a full description of the study procedure, mothers will complete a consent form.
The inclusion criteria are mothers with children aged 3 to 6 years old, coverage by Health Center No 1, and mothers’ willingness to participate in the study.
The exclusion criteria are absence of women in all educational classes, lack of children’s cooperation in oral examinations, and dental plaque measurement.
To perform this study, Health Center No 1 in the city of Ilam is selected because of its activity and the large population of children aged 3 to 6 years old. After obtaining written permission from Ilam University of Medical Sciences, it is presented to Health Center No 1 to follow the legal procedure of entry into the research context.
The first step of the study (before intervention) includes children’s oral examination and completion of the questionnaire; afterwards, the educational intervention will be conducted in three 45-minute sessions; and the second step of the study (after intervention) includes children’s oral re-examinations and completion of the questionnaire. Finally, the data will be analyzed by using the SPSS software version 16.