Overall targets
The overall objective of the intervention is to promote and integrate systematic, sustainable school based oral health initiatives in the West Bank, leading to improved oral health of school children across Palestine. This will be done through capacity building and advocacy activities among central decision makers and stakeholders. The knowledge and positive results gathered from a previous project and in this proposed project will be used as a tool to advocate for a national action plan on oral health.
Immediate targets
Immediate objective 1 By the end of the project, PMRS has taken over the school based oral health care programmes, both operationally, technically and financially, in collaboration with the primary schools and parents part of their school health core-programme. Furthermore, that PMRS offer OUT and oral health information as part of their service in mobile clinics and primary health care centres. Immediate objective 2 By the end of the project, the skills and engagement of key stakeholder groups in Palestine within the dental field and school health have increased in regards to promoting oral health for the general population. Immediate objective 3 By the end of the project, an established Oral Health Promotion Committee has promoted oral health through public campaigns and given input to the central administration in the Palestinian Authority to establish a national action plan on sustainable oral health, with emphasis on school oral health care.
Target groups
Primary target groups Target for education and field training in regards to capacity building: From PMRS: • 46 school health workers in the West Bank – they will have a key role in the implementation of the daily school tooth brushing programmes. PMRS has a total of 250 elementary schools part of their national school health programme. • 69 staff members from a total of 8 mobile clinics and 26 primary health care centres in the West Bank (e.g. employed doctors, nurses and health workers). • Approx. 60 health worker students at PMRS’ community college (during the course of the project) and 22 employed health workers in the West Bank (not employed by PMRS’ school health core-programme). Dental professionals in the West Bank: • Newly graduated dentists in their practice year. At present there are 170 in total (bringing the total to an average of 510 new graduates during the course of the three year project period). • Dental students from the two dental schools in the West Bank, Arab American University and Al Quds University. • Public dentists – 83 in total. • School health supervisors from MOH and MOE, district offices - targeted through educational workshops and visits to the project’s ‘role model’ schools Target for advocacy: • National stakeholders / policy makers which the project will integrate in its policy advocacy efforts: • Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH), oral health unit • Palestinian MOH, school health unit • Palestinian Ministry of Education (MOE), school health unit • Palestinian Dental Association (PDA) • Dental schools from Al Quds University and Arab American University Beneficiaries • Approx. 2,500 Palestinian primary school children from grade 1-6 from the project’s ‘role model schools’ who will be involved directly from project start. Furthermore, approx. 25,000 school children once PMRS starts further implementing tooth brushing programmes on their own at even more primary schools during the project period. • In addition, up to 25,000 families corresponding to the number of children will gain knowledge on oral health due to the activities at the schools. Secondary target groups • Teachers & school principals from the project schools. They will obtain knowledge on how to educate and promote oral health. Teachers and principals will also benefit from pedagogical and didactic materials developed and distributed through the project. • Media - Radio/TV/Social Media In addition to the proposed target groups, the project will indirectly reach out to numerous Palestinians across the oPt through mass and social media and through PMRS’ various core programmes. Palestinian schools are either mixed or divided into boy and girl schools. As in our previous project, we aim at a total equal distribution of boys and girls within the project, as both males and females suffer equally from poor oral health. The intervention will not gender discriminate in any way and will include all children and adults, regardless of gender, religion, social status and possible disabilities. We aim to be culturally sensitive by ensuring there will be both male and female staff members considering the shyness (due to cultural norms) of some children, parents and teachers in being trained by a person of the opposite sex.
Resume
Projektets overordnede formål er at fremme og integrere bæredygtige sundhedsinitiativer i Palæstina, som vil føre til bedre tandsundhed blandt skolebørn. Dette vil ske gennem kapacitetsopbygning og fortalervirksomhed blandt centrale beslutningstagere og interessenter. Projekterfaring og gode resultater opnået gennem et tidligere projekt på Vestbredden og i dette foreslåede projekt, vil anvendes til at advokere for en national handlingsplan. Fokus er på tre hovedelementer: 1) At gøre skolebaserede tandsundhedsprogrammer og akut tandbehandling til en permanent del af PMRS’ kerneydelser. 2) At øge palæstinensiske tandfagliges kompetencer inden for samfundstandpleje og akut behandling for at kunne danne et nationalt system for skoletandpleje. 3) Fortalervirksomhed i stor skala ved at gennemføre nationale oplysningskampagner og ved at nedsætte en komite med nøgleinteressenter, hvis primære mission er at udvikle en national plan for skoletandpleje og advokere for den til beslutningstagere.