Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb;51(1):133-138.
doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12790. Epub 2023 Feb 8.

Evaluating childsmile, Scotland's National Oral Health Improvement Programme for children

Alastair J Ross  1 , Andrea Sherriff  1 , Jamie Kidd  1 , Leigh Deas  2 , Jenny Eaves  2 , Alex Blokland  3 , Bill Wright  1 , Peter King  2 , Alex D McMahon  1 , David I Conway  1 , Lorna M D Macpherson  1
Affiliations
Free article

Evaluating childsmile, Scotland's National Oral Health Improvement Programme for children

Alastair J Ross et al. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2023 Feb.
Free article

Abstract

In the early 2000s, a Scottish Government Oral Health Action Plan identified the need for a national programme to improve child oral health and reduce inequalities. 'Childsmile' aimed to improve child oral health in Scotland, reduce inequalities in outcomes and access to dental services, and to shift the balance of care from treatment to prevention through targeted and universal components in dental practice, community and educational settings. This paper describes how an embedded, theory-based research and evaluation arm with multi-disciplinary input helps determine priorities and provides important strategic direction. Programme theory is articulated in dedicated, dynamic logic models, and evaluation themes are as follows: population-level data linkage; trials and economic evaluations; investigations drawing from behavioural and implementation science; evidence reviews and updates; and applications of systems science. There is also a growing knowledge sharing network internationally. Collaborative working from all stakeholders is necessary to maintain gains and to address areas that may not be working as well, and never more so with the major disruptions to the programme from the COVID-19 pandemic and response. Conclusions are that evaluation and research are synergistic with a complex, dynamic programme like Childsmile. The evidence obtained allows for appraisal of the relative strengths of component interventions and the reach and impact of Childsmile to feed into national policy.

Keywords: childhood caries; dental public health; programme evaluation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Committee, S.D.E.C.-o, Scotland's National Dental Inspections Programme, 2003, Dundee: Dental Health Services Research Unit, University of Dundee.
    1. Executive, S.J.E.S.E, An action plan for improving oral health and modernising NHS dental services in Scotland 2005. 1.
    1. Report of the 2020 Detailed Inspection Programme of Primary 1 Children and the Basic Inspection of Primary 1 and Primary 7 children, in National Dental Inspection Programme. 2020.
    1. Levin KA, Davies CA, Topping GVA, Assaf AV, Pitts NB. Inequalities in dental caries of 5-year-old children in Scotland, 1993-2003. Eur J Public Health. 2009;19(3):337-342.
    1. Macpherson LM, Ball GE, Brewster L, et al. Childsmile: the national child oral health improvement programme in Scotland. Part 1: Establishment and development. Br Dent J. 2010;209(2):73-78.

Publication types