Development and validation of an oral hygiene education game board (DENTOBOD) among adolescent students in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Many Nigerian adolescents lack knowledge about ideal oral hygiene practices, which has contributed to the high prevalence of poor oral health among them. Delivering oral hygiene education using innovative methods, such as board games associated with having fun while also learning, would help increase their understanding and adherence to these practices. A board game operates on the principle that knowledge is acquired and retained through repetition and interaction with peers. This paper highlights the development of a culturally tailored board game based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and validated for promoting oral hygiene among adolescents. AIM: To report how a board game on oral hygiene education for adolescents was developed and validated in southwestern Nigeria. METHOD: A Research and Development (R&D) framework, incorporating Design-Based Research (DBR) principles, was used to develop a board game containing oral hygiene messages. The messages were adapted from the World Health Organisation's (WHO) promoting Oral Health in Africa manual. This was based on the HBM constructs and tailored to fit the African context. Over a period of three months, the development of the oral hygiene education board game involved five community oral health professionals, a paediatric dentist, and a psychologist specialising in adolescent health from the University of Ibadan. Students of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Ibadan, a graphic designer, and an artist also contributed to the project. The board game was developed using English, the official language of Nigeria. In the validation of this tool, the ease of use, duration of play, number of players, and its relevance to this age bracket's daily activities were largely considered. RESULTS: A 20 by 20 inches stainless steel framed board game with an acrylic surface containing 100 small boxes, featuring black-themed oral hygiene graphical illustrations and oral hygiene messages inserted in some boxes, were developed. In addition, 10 cards of size 8.5 cm by 5.4 cm containing oral hygiene questions on one side and the answers on the other side, as well as five colour-coded laminated player identification cards, were also created. Two dice and a plastic cup for throwing the dice were procured. The oral hygiene messages, questions and answers focus on enhancing adolescents' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding optimal oral hygiene measures in Southwestern Nigeria. Oral hygiene messages, questions and answers were modified accordingly to ensure they were age appropriate and effective for promoting oral hygiene education through a board game. The board game was designed to be colourful to increase its appeal and encourage play. CONCLUSION: The development of the board game was informed by the need for context-specific, age-appropriate tools to enhance oral hygiene education among adolescents. The design stages integrated culturally relevant content, simple language, and familiar visual elements to improve accessibility and relatability. Interactive components were incorporated to promote peer-to-peer learning and active engagement. The board game was structured for ease of implementation in school-based and community settings. While not yet evaluated through formal intervention, its design features suggest potential to support improved oral health awareness and behaviour among adolescents, particularly in low and middle-income contexts.