Teeth 4 Tots: An Oral Health Promotion Multi-media Messaging Program Rinal Patel Priya Gangolly
Dec 19, 2014
Teeth 4 Tots:An Oral Health Promotion
Multi-media Messaging Program
Rinal PatelPriya Gangolly
Health Problem
Despite improvement in the overall oral health of Americans, the CDC has reported a significant increase in dental caries among children ages 2-5 years, setting the stage for many young children to develop a lifetime of complications from poor oral health.
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsUntreatedCavitiesKids/
Target Audience
Parents of children ages 2-5 in the United States.
Health Goal
Decrease the incidence of dental caries in children ages 2-5 by strengthening oral health
education skills and behaviors in parents.
Behavioral Objectives
By the end of our campaign, the number of parents of children ages 2-5 in our sample audience:
1. Who supervise their children while brushing their teeth;
2. Who perform checks on their children's teeth for white or brown spots; and
3. Whose children brush at least twice a day
will increase by 30%, for the duration of the program.
Communication Objective
1) By the end of our campaign, 50% of the parents will report having increased their knowledge and skills of how to do teeth brushing and cavity checks. (SCT – Behavior Capability)
2) By the end of our campaign, 50% of the parents will have the confidence to perform oral health monitoring of their children. (SCT – Self-efficacy)
Text Message Library
Age 2:
Time: Message:
10:30am
You can pass germs that may cause tooth decay to your child through saliva. Rinse with anti-bacterial mouthwash to reduce the number of cavity-causing bacteria.
3:00pm Do not share cups or eating utensils, pre-chew your child's food, or put a pacifier in your mouth before giving it to your child.
7:30pm Lift your child’s lip daily and look for white or brown spots on the front and back sides of teeth near the gum line. See a dentist if you notice changes.
Text Program: In a Nutshell
• 100% found text messages were helpful (especially reminders)
• Supervision and cavity checks increased
• Incentives were working for 83% of parents
• Moving onto app…• Ask evaluation questions throughout the program and provide
incentives for each question the parent answers• Parents preferred an emphasis on dental caries checks and
supervision reminders• Parents have different schedules – ask for preferred time in
revised campaign
MAIN MENU
Customized Profile Page
• Age of child (for customized alerts)
• Date of last dentist appointment
• Preferences for # alerts/day
• Dentist’s contact information
Cavity Check Reminder Alert + Log
Toothbrush Timer with Customizable Song
Qualifying Alert
Personalized Tip for Teething
Personalized Tip for Thumb Sucking
Healthy Snack Encyclopedia
Attributes of InnovationRELATIVE ADVANTAGE
• If parents check for cavities on a daily basis, they won’t experience oral health problems (e.g. cavities) that lead to a greater expense for the parent
• Parents don’t miss twice-yearly appointments – appointment dates entered in Profile with reminder alerts
• Improves time management with reminders to check for cavities and scheduling appointments
COMPATIBILITY
• Profile is tailored to individual; age of child, date of last dentist appointment, # of preferred alerts/day
• Compatible with needs where parents feel that their child’s dental care needs are being followed and met
• Dentist’s number programmed into Profile, which prompts an alert to call the dentist when an appointment needs to be scheduled
• Child can pick the song they want to brush their teeth to, encouraging them to do perform the behavior
Attributes of Innovation
COMPLEXITY
• Simple user interface• Profile questions automatically place the child at
a level; parents don’t need to guess what their child’s needs are
• Alerts pop up on the screen asking parents a question whether they have checked child for cavities – direct
• Cavity check log is automatically updated• Parents don’t have to guess which snacks are
healthy; options are provided under certain categories of food
Attributes of Innovation
TRIALABILITY
• Teething and sucking thumb alerts are only offered to parents who answer that their child currently has these behaviors – parents don’t get tips that don’t apply to them
• Parents can unsubscribe from tip alerts or reduce the number of tips they receive per day
Attributes of Innovation
OBSERVABILITY
• After a week of checking for cavities or consistent tooth brushing, they have the option to post their gold star on Facebook or Twitter
• Social network game between parents to score who always remembers to check their child for cavities, has their child brush their teeth 2-3 times per day, and assisting with flossing• Parents can forward tips to other members (and in
their social media networks) and can also share their own tips amongst themselves
Attributes of Innovation
Communication Channels
• Mommy Bloggers focused on children’s health• Healthy Mom’s Magazine• The Mommy Blog
• Social networks for moms• Café Mom
• Opinion Leaders• Healthy Kids Pediatrics Blog – Dr. Deborah
Bain• “Dr. Gwynn is In” Blog
Partnerships
• Colgate• Bright Smiles, Bright
Futures• “Education to build healthy
habits, self esteem, and a foundation for success”
• Incentives
• CDC Division of Oral Health• Provide tips and advice
• Sesame Street• “Healthy Teeth” episode
building on skills
Timeline• Months 1-2 :
• Complete development of Teeth 4 Tots app
• Announce partnership with Colgate in release
• Partner with Mommy Bloggers to announce test launch of app
• Months 3-4 :
• Work with Colgate to advertise product on select packaging
• TV spots through Colgate
• Begin rolling out evaluation questions through alerts and provide incentives for participants
Months 5-7 :Begin social media component of program: Facebook + TwitterParents are able to connect with each other through the app to share advice/ideas
Months 8-10 :Parents can compete with each other through the app
Months 11-12: Evaluation