Aims The aim of this study was to assess the perspectives of Primary Health Care (PHC) care workers, regarding oral health in rural areas of Kordkooy, Golestan province, Iran.
Methods After obtaining informed consent, focus group discussions took place in health centres with PHC personnel. Two independent researchers coordinated focus group discussions (2 groups of 7 and 2 groups of 6 participants) on oral health delivery in PHC centres. The discussions continued until saturation was obtained. In order to perform content analysis, the content of the discussions was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Codes were extracted by two researchers independently, sub-themes and themes were then extracted.
Results Overall, 26 PHC workers (18 female, 8 male) took part in the study with the mean work experience of 13 years. Less than half of the participants were 34 years and under. The main themes extracted regarding delivery of dental care were; resource limitation, workload, lack of awareness of PHC workers regarding oral health, access, economic barriers. Regarding the challenges regarding oral health prevention, the main themes were; poor knowledge of patients, limited oral health related knowledge of health care workers and human resources.
Conclusion The results of this study suggest that after appropriate training PHC health care workers can deliver oral health advice in remote areas, with emphasis on the role of schools, mothers and patient education.
