Development of a Motivational Interviewing Oral Health Education Program for Elementary School Students

Background: Motivational interviewing (MI) is effective in promoting sustained behavioral changes across various fields.However, there is a lack of research on the application of MI in oral health education, targeting elementary school students in South Korea.This study aimed to develop an MI-based oral health education program to positively influence oral health behaviors and improve the oral health of elementary school students.Methods: The program was developed using Sussman's curriculum development model in four stages: theoretical research and needs assessment; collection of program activity strategies; evaluation and review of activities; and final production of the program.The program was refined based on feedback from four experts to enhance its validity and effectiveness.Results: The final program consisted of five one-hour sessions.Fifteen activity sheets were created to align the contents of each session.The sessions incorporated key MI techniques, including open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries and information provision, with the goals of building rapport, assessing readiness for behavior change, exploring ambivalence, creating discrepancies, motivating change, and planning for action.The oral health education content was tailored to the level of upper elementary students, covering topics such as tooth structure and function, causes and progression of dental caries, Bass method of tooth brushing, use of dental floss and tongue cleaners, and identification of cariogenic foods.Conclusion: This study is significant because it developed an MI-based program capable of promoting self-driven behavioral change that moves beyond traditional lecture-based oral health education.Future research should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of the program and exploring its applicability to other age groups.