Assessment of the oral health literacy and oral health behaviors among nurses in China: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose Oral health is important for general health; nurses are expected to possess good oral health awareness and work together for public oral health promotion. The purpose of this study is to investigate oral health literacy (OHL)and oral health behaviors of nurses, and explore the association between oral health literacy with demographic variables and oral health behaviors. Methods A cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital was conducted using a short-form Health Literacy in Dentistry-14 (HeLD-14) and a 16-items oral health behaviors questionnaire. Information about the subjects’ demographic details including age, gender, place of residence, marital status, marital status, education level, monthly household income, working experience, etc. were collected. Independent sample t- test, One- way ANOVA, and multivariable regression were used to identify the association of oral health literacy with demographic variables and oral health behaviors. Results A total number of 317 nursing nurses participated in the survey, with a mean OHL score of 36.72, SD10.531, 21.8% were categorized as good, 34.1% medium and 44.2% poor oral health literacy; monthly household income, self-rated oral health, brushing time, use of fluoride toothpaste, and regular oral examination were signficantly associated with OHL scores. Conclusion The overall oral health literacy of the nurse population is at a moderate to low level. These findings may help to map and design an oral health education intervention to improve oral health literacy amongst nurses, especially nurses with low monthly household income and poor self-assessed oral health status. Nursing administrators and nursing educators should pay more attention to the oral health status of the nurse population.

Oral Health Literacy Levels of Nursing Professionals and Effectiveness of Integrating Oral Health Training into Nursing Curricula: A Systematic Review

“…Furthermore, interdisciplinary/interprofessional collaborative practice and educational programs were reported to improve the confidence levels and behaviors of nurses related to the promotion of oral health [17,18,[23][24][25][26][27]. Twenty-seven studies reported on the knowledge of oral healthcare among nursing professionals [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Most studies reported (n=13) suboptimal or a lack of knowledge of oral healthcare among nurses [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

“…In comparison to community health officers and community health extension workers, nurses were found to have better knowledge of oral health [38]. Two cross-sectional studies that surveyed the knowledge of undergraduate Twenty-seven studies reported on the knowledge of oral healthcare among nursing professionals [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Most studies reported (n = 13) suboptimal or a lack of knowledge of oral healthcare among nurses [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

“…The mean oral health knowledge scores among nurses ranged from 3.7 (out of a maximum score of 5.0) [34] to 6.74 (out of a maximum score of 22.0) [39]. Knowledge related to oral healthcare was also reported to be linked to the educational background and experience of the nurses, with nursing practitioners and graduates having relatively better knowledge than trainee/student nurses, midwives, nurses with a diploma, and other professionals [29,33,[36][37][38][40][41][42]. In a cross-sectional study, nurses with a degree or above were 5 times more likely to have greater knowledge versus diploma holders (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 5.05; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.85-13.83) [33].…”

Assessment of the Oral Health Care Practices and Basic Knowledge of Dental and Periodontal Diseases Among Dental Undergraduate Students: A Cross Sectional Study

“…In addition to socio-economic factors, insufficient oral health care knowledge, limited access to dental services, and poor oral health care behavior are also barriers for oral health. [3].Therefore, it is of utmost importance that oral health literacy is increased amongst the health care students and masses alike because of the generally accepted fact that oral health literacy is one of the most important determinants of oral health [4] along with the presence of significant evidence which indicates that primary health care users with lower OHL levels have more severe periodontal diseases. [5] Conversely, people with higher oral health literacy tend to have better self-rated oral health and oral health-related quality of life [6,7].…”

Occupational exposure of dental nurses in a tertiary dental hospital in Beijing: A single-centre retrospective study

“…In addition to collaborating with dental doctors to complete treatment, they also undertake tasks such as reception, triage services, health education, medical guidance, and oral health care [5] . Unfortunately, with the development of the dental industry centered around dentists, although specialized dental nurses are extremely important personnel for dentists and have a large number, even no less than dentists, records and documents related to specialized dental nurses are very scarce.…”