RHP&EO is the electronic journal of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education

A Tobacco Prevention / Intervention Programme In The Dental Services, Skaraborg County, Sweden

Orjan Akerberg, Scientific secretary/DDS

Skaraborgsinstitutet/Karolinska Institutet, Inst.f'or folkhhalsovetenskap, Avd. f'6r socialmedicin, Sundbyberg, Sweden

The Dental Services play an important role in tobacco preventive work. They have for many years successfully worked with health behaviour changes in their patients, they are often completely computerised and can handle big amounts of data and ,finally, many tobacco related disorders are manifested in the mouth.

In Sweden, almost all children and teenagers 3-19 year old have a check-up once a year and at that occasion it is possible to deliver a health message and/or collect data regarding their health behaviour. Suitable health topics are a/o. tobacco and nutrition. In Skaraborg County, Sweden, the Dental Services ( Folktandvarden ) in four out of six areas participate in an ongoing project, where 17.000 patients 11-19 year old during 1994 were, when visiting the dentist, asked about their tobacco habits.

During 1995, the population in the same age group in two of the four areas got a small "chat" about tobacco after the check-up, intended to strengthen their self esteem They also got some printed material to bring home including a letter to their parents. The other half of the population was treated as control and got no intervention.

Finally, in 1996 we do a survey of the tobacco habits once more among patients 11-19 year old in the same four districts as 1994.

The result from the tobacco-habit survey 1994 indicate that there were no differences in tobacco habits between the two control areas versus the two intervention areas. Furthermore, an interesting comparison can be done with an anonymous school survey in Skaraborg County containing parts of the same population.

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