Trial of Training for Disaster Dental Health Care Support Activities

Abstract

　Japan is prone to major natural disasters. Accordingly, workshops on the training of medical and dental disaster coordinators in providing medical support in possible future disasters have recently been held. The numbers of both training workshops and registered dental professionals for disaster dental health care support are still insufficient. Therefore, we planned and held a workshop to give training on disaster dental health support to dental health care personnel. The aim of the workshop was to perform triages including dental diagnosis, oral health assessments, and disaster medical activities in cooperation with other medical institutes located in the disaster area. We designed a one-day program of workshops mixed with lectures and practical training sessions. A total of three workshop sessions were held in the Kyushu area, and 104 participants, including dentists, dental hygienists, dental technicians, a nurse, a clerical staffer, and dental students, completed the training. We confirmed participantsʼ understanding of the training by administering pre- and post-training questionnaires. The questionnaire responses showed that participantsʼ knowledge of disaster dental health care support activities, and in particular, oral health care and meal support by dental health care personnel, were greatly increased. Furthermore, we requested the participation of disaster medical support teams in each institute, such as dental associations, dental hygiene associations, and dental colleges/universities. We encouraged ongoing positive participation in disaster dental health care support activities in the future. We will continue to conduct workshops to increase the number of disaster dental health care supporters including dental students and dental interns by designing future education programs.