Top

BMC Oral Health

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research

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

Authors: Ran An, Wen-feng Chen, Siyu Li, Zitong Wu, Meizi Liu, Muhammad Sohaib

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2022

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.

Fiorillo L. Oral health: the first step to well-being. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019;55(10):676. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55100676.CrossRef

Peres MA, Macpherson LMD, Weyant RJ, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur MR, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. Lancet. 2019;394(10194):249–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(19)31146-8.CrossRef

Bernabe E, Marcenes W, Hernandez CR, Bailey J, Abreu LG, Alipour V, et al. Global, regional, and national levels and trends in burden of oral conditions from 1990 to 2017: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease 2017 study. J Dent Res. 2020;99(4):362–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034520908533.CrossRef

Zeng XJ, Gao XJ. Prevention and control of oral diseases via common risk factor approach. Zhonghua Kou Qiang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2019;54(11):721–6. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.issn.1002-0098.2019.11.001.CrossRef

Lee JY. Lower oral health literacy may lead to poorer oral health outcomes. J Evid Based Dent Pract. 2018;18(3):255–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebdp.2018.05.003.CrossRef

The invisible barrier: literacy and its relationship with oral health. A report of a workgroup sponsored by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Health, U.S. Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services. J Public Health Dent. 2005;65(3):174–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-7325.2005.tb02808.x.

Das D, Menon I, Gupta R, Arora V, Ashraf A, Ahsan I. Oral health literacy: a practical strategy towards better oral health status among adult population of Ghaziabad district. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2020;9(2):764–70. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1049_19.PubMedPMID:WOS:000648430600056.CrossRef

Osman BM, Elkarmalawy E, Sharaa HM, Farid A. Nurses’ knowledge regarding oral and dental health across the life span: a survey study". Biosci Res. 2018;15(4):2929–37.

Sigurdardottir AS, Geirsdottir OG, Ramel A, Arnadottir IB. Cross-sectional study of oral health care service, oral health beliefs and oral health care education of caregivers in nursing homes. Geriatr Nurs. 2022;43:138–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.11.010.CrossRef

10.

Baskaradoss JK. Relationship between oral health literacy and oral health status. BMC Oral Health. 2018;18(1):172. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-018-0640-1.CrossRef

11.

Kanupuru KK, Fareed N, Sudhir KM. Relationship between oral health literacy and oral health status among college students. Oral Health Prev Dent. 2015;13(4):323–30. https://doi.org/10.3290/j.ohpd.a33444.CrossRef

12.

Bado FMR, Barbosa TS, Soares GH, Mialhe FL. Oral health literacy and periodontal disease in primary health care users. Int Dent J. 2022;72(5):654–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.identj.2021.12.004.CrossRef

13.

Firmino RT, Martins CC, Faria LD, Paiva SM, Granville-Garcia AF, Fraiz FC, et al. Association of oral health literacy with oral health behaviors, perception, knowledge, and dental treatment related outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Public Health Dent. 2018;78(3):231–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/jphd.12266.PubMedPMID:WOS:000443570000007.CrossRef

14.

Lazaro SLD, Durben AMN, Kline JJ. Barriers and opportunities to support the oral health of older adults: a rapid review of health policy and systems. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2023;96(1):51-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150221106098.

15.

Niazi S, Eusufzai SZ, Saddki N. Predictors of oral health literacy in pregnant women. Health Care Women Int. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2022.2046751.

16.

Yao K, Yao Y, Shen X, Lu C, Guo Q. Assessment of the oral health behavior, knowledge and status among dental and medical undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Oral Health. 2019;19(1):26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-019-0716-6.CrossRef

17.

Grace W, Tebbin K, Judith F, Rebecca C. Assessing oral health literacy of university nursing students: a cross-sectional exploratory study. Nurse Educ Pract. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103066.CrossRef

18.

Noor NM, Rani H, Zakaria ASI, Yahya NA, Sockalingam S. Sociodemography, oral health status and behaviours related to oral health literacy. Pesqui Bras Odontopediatria Clin Integr. 2019. https://doi.org/10.4034/PBOCI.2019.191.120.CrossRef

19.

Maida CA, Xiong D, Marcus M, Zhou L, Huang Y, Lyu Y, et al. Quantitative data collection approaches in subject-reported oral health research: a scoping review. BMC Oral Health. 2022;22(1):435. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02399-5.CrossRef

20.

Bado FMR, De Checchi MHR, Cortellazzi KL, Ju X, Jamieson L, Mialhe FL. Oral health literacy, self-rated oral health, and oral health-related quality of life in Brazilian adults. Eur J Oral Sci. 2020;128(3):218–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/eos.12695.CrossRef

21.

Silva-Junior MF, Rosário De Sousa MDL, Batista MJ. Health literacy on oral health practice and condition in an adult and elderly population. Health Promot Int. 2021;36(4):933–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaa135.CrossRef

22.

Lee SR, Han MA, Park J, Ryu SY, Kim SY. Oral health status and behavior in elderly Koreans with periodontal disease. J Public Health Dent. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/jphd.12469.CrossRef

23.

Su S, Lipsky MS, Licari FW, Hung M. Comparing oral health behaviours of men and women in the United States. J Dent. 2022;122:104157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdent.2022.104157.CrossRef

24.

Hackley DM, Jain S, Pagni SE, Finkelman M, Ntaganira J, Morgan JP. Oral health conditions and correlates: a national oral health survey of Rwanda. Glob Health Action. 2021;14(1):1904628. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2021.1904628.CrossRef

25.

Veerasamy A, Lyons K, Crabtree I, Brunton P. Knowledge of nursing graduates on oral health care for older people in the long-term care. J Dent Educ. 2022;86(7):830–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12895.CrossRef

26.

Blizniuk A, Ueno M, Zaitsu T, Kawaguchi Y. Association of oral health literacy with oral health behaviour and oral health status in Belarus. Community Dent Health. 2015;32(3):148–52. https://doi.org/10.1922/CDH_3584-Blizniuk05.CrossRef

27.

Jones K, Brennan D, Parker E, Jamieson L. Development of a short-form health literacy dental scale (HeLD-14). Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2015;43(2):143–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdoe.12133.CrossRef

28.

Yan W, Ju X, Jamieson L, Fan L. Research on the Chineseization and reliability of a simplified version of the oral health literacy scale. Chin Nurs Res. 2021;35(20):3612–6.

29.

Xu X, Zhao Y, Gu D, Pei Y, Wu B. Health behaviors and self-reported oral health among centenarians in Nanjing, China: a cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(14):7285. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147285.CrossRef

30.

Han MA. Oral health status and behavior among cancer survivors in Korea using nationwide survey. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;15(1):14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010014.CrossRef

31.

Bahammam S, Chen CY, Ishida Y, Hayashi A, Ikeda Y, Ishii H, et al. Electric and manual oral hygiene routines affect plaque index score differently. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(24):13123. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413123.CrossRef

32.

Creeth JE, Gallagher A, Sowinski J, Bowman J, Barrett K, Lowe S, et al. The effect of brushing time and dentifrice on dental plaque removal in vivo. J Dent Hyg JDH. 2009;83(3):111–6.

33.

Ganss C, Schlueter N, Preiss S, Klimek J. Tooth brushing habits in uninstructed adults–frequency, technique, duration and force. Clin Oral Invest. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-008-0230-8.CrossRef

34.

Creeth JE, Gallagher A, Sowinski J, Bowman J, Barrett K, Lowe S, et al. The effect of brushing time and dentifrice on dental plaque removal in vivo. J Dent Hyg. 2009;83(3):111–6.

35.

McCracken GI, Janssen J, Swan M, Steen N, de Jager M, Heasman PA. Effect of brushing force and time on plaque removal using a powered toothbrush. J Clin Periodontol. 2003;30(5):409–13. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-051x.2003.20008.x.CrossRef

36.

Pollick H. The role of fluoride in the prevention of tooth decay. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2018;65(5):923–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2018.05.014.CrossRef

37.

Walsh T, Worthington HV, Glenny AM, Marinho VC, Jeroncic A. Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;3(3):007868. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007868.pub3.CrossRef

38.

Deng L, Cai T, Li YH, Zhou Z, Yang ZY. Tooth brushing behavior and its influencing factors among middle school students in Chongqing, China. Int J Clin Exp Med. 2019;12(7):8957.

39.

Cheng ML, Xu MR, Xie YY, Gao XL, Wu HJ, Wang X, et al. Utilisation of oral health services and economic burden of oral diseases in China. Chin J Dent Res. 2018;21(4):275–84. https://doi.org/10.3290/j.cjdr.a41086.CrossRef

40.

Liu DL, Xie YF, Shu R. Statistical analysis of current oral health care and dental education resources in China. Chin J Dent Res. 2019;22(1):37–43. https://doi.org/10.3290/j.cjdr.a41773.CrossRef

Title: Assessment of the oral health literacy and oral health behaviors among nurses in China: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Ran An
Wen-feng Chen
Siyu Li
Zitong Wu
Meizi Liu
Muhammad Sohaib
Publication date: 01-12-2022
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02658-5

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

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

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2022

Laminate veneer ceramics in aesthetic rehabilitation of teeth with fluorosis: a 10-year follow-up study

Oral health perceptions and practices of caregivers at children’s religious schools and foster care centers: a qualitative exploratory study in Lahore, Pakistan

Comparison of antibacterial effect of plantaricin 149 suspension and traditional root canal irrigation solutions in root canal infections in vitro

Association between Osteoprotegerin rs2073618 polymorphism and peri-implantitis susceptibility: a meta-analysis

Traumatic temporomandibular joint bony ankylosis in growing rats

Structural validity of the Brazilian version of the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-13) in oral health research: exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis