Open Collections

Chicote, Ashley

University of British Columbia

Objectives: Due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in March 2020, all in-person Special Olympics of British Columbia (SOBC) programs were revoked, hindering access to oral healthcare (OH) for persons with intellectual disabilities (PID). A Virtual Special Smiles Self-Assessment Program (VSSSAP), an acclimated online version of the in-person Special Smiles program, attempted to augment OH access during the COVID-19 restrictions. The aim of this pilot-study was to determine if the VSSSAP would support access to OH for the SOBC athletes and to train and catalogue OH-professionals (OHPs) attitudes and intended behaviours in guiding virtual self-assessment care and education to PID. Methods: Athletes were invited by SOBC to attend the VSSSAP, and those who consented were invited to participate in the ethics-approved UBC survey study. Surveys were adapted from the iADH toolbox, with OHPs’ pre/post surveys designed to measure attitudes and intended behaviours, and SOBC athletes’ post-survey measuring satisfaction, ease of use, communication effectiveness, and usefulness of the VSSSAP. The power sample calculation in reaching data saturation is 36 and 28 for athletes and OHPs, respectively. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. To prepare for the VSSSAP, athletes were given a worksheet with the questions in advance and which they could then bring to their next dental visit. Results: 33 athletes and 10 OHPs attended the VSSSAP. 14 (42.4%) athletes and 7 (70.0%) OHPs completed the UBC surveys. 53.8% of athletes strongly agreed they could express their dental concerns, 53.8% strongly agreed the VSSSAP met their dental needs, and 69.2% strongly agreed they learned something new. In both pre- and post-surveys, OHPs scored highest in the outcome evaluations category; and scored lowest in subjective norms and normative beliefs. Conclusions: Informative themes emerged from this pilot study. By being participatory rather than informed, athletes could self-identify their personalized unmet oral health needs. OHPs may value positive outcomes but still have lower internal pressure and negative beliefs about others’ opinions on providing care for PID. However, even within this sample size, the VSSSAP brings insight into the possibilities of accessibility and delivery of OH education through virtual conferencing for all OHPs and PID. 

Text

2022-10-21

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/82955

Craniofacial Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/