Development of an oral health care model for dependent elderly with the participatory process of village health volunteers in Satuek sub-district, Satuek district, Buriram province

Abstract

     This action research aimed to study the development of an oral health care model for dependent elderly with the participatory process of village health volunteers. The study applied an action research approach. The samples consisted of 3 groups: 1) 35 network participants selected by purposive sampling 2) 133 village health volunteers selected by purposive sampling and 3) 85 dependent elderl selected by stratified random sampling. Quantitative data was collected by the questionnaire, oral health examination and dental service form and focus group discussion guidelines. Data was collected between April to August 2026. Data analysis was performed by descriptive and comparative analysis was performed by paired t-test with a significance level of 0.05. Qualitative data using content analysis.

     The research findings the showed the developed model comprised 5 components : 1) Participatory Oral Health Screening and Assessment 2) Individualized Oral Health Care Planning 3) Village Health Volunteer Capacity Building 4) Home-Based Oral Health Care Integrated with Teledentistry and 5) Seamless Referral and Continuous Follow-up System. After implementation of the model, the knowledge and participation in oral health care for dependent elderly level of village health volunteers significantly increased (p-value<0.001). And dependent elderly received an individual oral health care 100.00 percent