The Effectiveness of a Board Game-Based Oral Hygiene Education Program on Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Plaque Index of Adults with Intellectual Disability: A Pilot Study

Abstract

An oral hygiene board game was designed as an intervention tool and applied to explore the effectiveness for the oral health related knowledge (OHK) score and plaque index (PI) of adults with intellectual disability (ID). This one-group pre/post-test design study was conducted in a residential long-term care facility for 42 participants. The study had one pre-test (baseline) and three post-tests evaluated in both control and intervention stages, respectively. The participants participated in a 60-min oral hygiene board game twice a week during the intervention stage. Total OHK score and PI of the participants were recorded to determine the effectiveness of intervention. There were no differences in OHK score and PI between the two stages at baseline. The results in intervention stage demonstrated a significant gradual increase and reduction in the OHK score when compared with the control stage. A statistically significant improvement in the OHK score and PI (42.29% and −33.28%, respectively) at the end of intervention between two stages was recorded. This study proved a board game is deemed an effective education method applicable to promote the OHK and skills of ID adults.