Dental Health Services Victoria health promotion messages for oral health: A modified Delphi study

Issue addressed: The 2022 Oral health messages for Australia were reviewed, revised and published in 2023. This study adapted these messages from a value-based communication perspective to support Dental Health Services Victoria population health programs and resources.

Methods: A modified Delphi RAND/UCLA appropriateness method was adopted. An expert panel was convened, which included public oral health professionals and health promotion practitioners at Dental Health Services Victoria. The 2022 Oral health messages for Australia were reviewed and adapted to ensure consistency and relevance to consumers and health professionals. Once there was general agreement by the expert panel on the Dental Health Services Victoria health promotion messages for oral health, a follow-up anonymous survey was sent to the expert panel to rate their level of agreement. Additionally, the messages were evaluated for ease of readability with an anonymous survey of consumers.

Results: A total of 23 participants were invited on the expert panel, of which 16 agreed to participate. Considerations were made to reflect a broad perspective across disciplines in public oral health professionals encompassing expertise in policy, advocacy and health promotion. Broadly, there was agreement to adapt all of the 2022 Oral health messages for Australia. The level of agreement by the expert panel ranged from 73% to 100%. Amongst 13 consumer respondents to the survey, the level of agreement ranged from 62% to 100%.

Conclusion: There was sufficient rationale to adapt the 2022 Oral health messages for Australia for the Victorian context by using a value-based messaging approach. SO WHAT?: This study demonstrated that adaption was necessary to the 2022 Oral health messages for Australia, potentially leading to more impactful health promotion messages for oral health in Victoria.