Correlation of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice with their Oral Health Status among Young Adults of Nursing Care

Abstract

Background: Nursing profession execute an imperative role in health promotion, disease, and injury prevention, providing care and assist in cure of patients with diverse age groups, and backgrounds both in individual and community settings. The study aimed to determine and compare the oral health knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) with oral health status among nursing students in Salem. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on nursing students of Vinayaka Mission's Annapoorna College of Nursing, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India. The study included self-administered questionnaire covering demographic details and oral health KAP questions (18-items) followed by oral examination using the World Health Organization survey (2013). Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22. Results: Two hundred and sixty-one students were included in the survey (63 males and 198 females). Females reported better mean ± standard deviation (SD) in knowledge (24.08 ± 4.3), attitude (5.43 ± 1.3), and practice (10.82 ± 1.5, P = 0.000) than males. Moreover third-year students had higher mean ± SD scores in knowledge (24.42 ± 4.3) and practice (10.89 ± 1.7) while higher mean ± SD attitude scores (5.61 ± 1.2) was reported among second years. Relationship between attitude-practice indicated a positive significant correlation ( r = 0.145, P = 0.05). Conclusions: There are an adequate knowledge, negative attitude, and inadequate practice toward oral health among nursing students. The study introspects the gap between knowledge and actions. As attitude influence on a person's behavior, discriminate knowledge in the right direction to best bring out the outcomes.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward photoaging in the Chinese population: a cross-sectional study

“…A dissociation was observed in the present study regarding the correlations between knowledge, attitude and practice. Indeed, it is generally acknowledged that better knowledge will translate into better attitude and practice 29 , 30 . Still, such a dissociation has been reported in medical students toward geriatric education, in whom improved knowledge did not translate into a better attitude 31 .…”

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

“…In another cross-sectional study, the knowledge of the relationship between oral-systemic disease and the examination or screening of the oral cavity among nursing graduates was found to be poor, owing to the lack of oral healthcare content in nursing curricula [29]. In general, female nurses were found to possess better knowledge about oral healthcare than males [43] (Figure 3). 40% of the schools [13].…”

“…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].…”

Determinants of dietary behaviors among dental professionals: insights across educational levels

“…Recent evidence has established connections between knowledge, attitude, and practices [ 21 ]. While most research suggests that higher knowledge correlates with greater adoption of preventive measures and positive attitudes are associated with preventive behaviors [ 22 ], several studies have indicated a weak or no association between knowledge and practices [ 23 – 25 ]. Additionally, social and environmental determinants have been identified as key factors influencing individual health behaviors [ 26 , 27 ].…”