Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2023

Open Access 01-12-2023 | Research

Oral healthcare seeking behavior of Malaysian adults in urban and rural areas: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019

Authors: Yeung R’ong Tan, Suhana Jawahir, Jennifer Geraldine Doss

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2023

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The development and implementation of appropriate strategies to enhance oral health in the community can be aided by an understanding of oral healthcare seeking behavior among urban and rural populations. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors associated with oral healthcare seeking behavior of the Malaysians in urban and rural locations who self-reported dental problems.

Methods

The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, a cross-sectional nationwide household survey that focused on non-institutionalised Malaysians, provided the data for this study on adults in Malaysia who were 18 years of age and older. A two-stage stratified random sampling technique was employed to ensure national representativeness. Data was collected using a multilingual (Malay and English), structured, and validated questionnaire via face-to-face interviews from July to October 2019. The dependent variable was oral healthcare seeking behavior (sought oral healthcare and self-medication). Independent variables were predisposing, enabling and health needs factor based on Andersen’s Behavioral Model. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics and oral healthcare seeking behavior of the respondents. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables were investigated using multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Results

The analysis comprised a total of 10,134 respondents, representing about 18.2 million Malaysian adults aged 18 and above. The overall prevalence of Malaysian adults who self-reported dental problems was low (5.5%) and was slightly higher in the rural than urban population. Almost half sought treatment from healthcare practitioners, and almost a quarter self-medicated. Ethnicity was associated with seeking healthcare and self-medication among urban dwellers. Among the rural population, income level was associated with seeking healthcare while education level was associated with self-medication.

Conclusion

Disparities in oral healthcare seeking behaviors exist between Malaysians living in urban and rural areas. Future policies should adopt focused strategies that concentrate on oral healthcare accessibility and health literacy of the vulnerable and rural populations to achieve the best oral healthcare for this population group.
Literature
1.
Olenja J. Editorial: Health seeking behaviour in context. East Afr Med J. 2004;80:61–2.
2.
Cronin T, Sheppard J, de Wildt G. Health-seeking behaviour for schistosomiasis: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative literature. Pan Afr Med J. 2013;16:130.PubMedPubMedCentral
3.
Webair HH, Bin-Gouth AS. Factors affecting health seeking behavior for common childhood illnesses in Yemen. Patient Prefer Adher. 2013;7:1129.
4.
Senbeto M, Tadesse S, Tadesse T, Melesse T. Appropriate health-seeking behavior and associated factors among people who had cough for at least two weeks in northwest Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:1–7.
5.
Gbolahan OO, Fasola AO, Aladelusi TO. Attitude and behavior to oral health of 456 patients who presented for tooth extraction at 2 health facilities in Southwestern Nigeria. J Patient Exp. 2019;6:157–63.PubMed
6.
Tan YR, Tan EH, Jawahir S, Mohd Hanafiah AN, Mohd Yunos MH. Demographic and socioeconomic inequalities in oral healthcare utilisation in Malaysia: evidence from a national survey. BMC Oral Health. 2021;21:34.PubMedPubMedCentral
7.
Horumpende PG, Said SH, Mazuguni FS, Antony ML, Kumburu HH, Sonda TB, et al. Prevalence, determinants and knowledge of antibacterial self-medication: A cross sectional study in North-eastern Tanzania. PLoS ONE. 2018;13: e0206623.PubMedPubMedCentral
8.
9.
10.
Naeemmudeen NM, Ghazali NA, Bahari H, Ibrahim R, Samsudin A, Jasni A. Trends in antimicrobial resistance in Malaysia. Med J Malaysia. 2021;76:698–705.PubMed
11.
Llor C, Bjerrum L. Antimicrobial resistance: risk associated with antibiotic overuse and initiatives to reduce the problem. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2014;5:229–41.PubMedPubMedCentral
12.
Pharmaceutical Services Programme. National Antimicrobial Guideline 2019. Selangor, Malaysia: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2019.
13.
Mohd Noh SN, Jawahir S, Tan YR, Ab Rahim I, Tan EH. The health-seeking behavior among Malaysian adults in urban and rural areas who reported sickness: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19:3193.PubMedPubMedCentral
14.
Atun R, Berman P, Hsiao W, Myers E, Wei AY. Malaysia health systems research volume 1: contextual analysis of the Malaysian Health System, March 2016. South Online J Nurs Res. 2016;1:1–175.
15.
Falcon DJ. The health care gap in rural Malaysia. New Malaysia. 2019;37:28–36.
16.
Gambhir RS, Brar P, Singh G, Sofat A, Kakar H. Utilization of dental care: an Indian outlook. J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2013;4:292–7.PubMedPubMedCentral
17.
Cromer KJ, Wofford L, Wyant DK. Barriers to healthcare access facing American Indian and Alaska natives in rural America. J Community Health Nurs. 2019;36:165–87.PubMed
18.
Mariño R, Khan A, Tham R, Khew C-W, Stevenson C. Pattern and factors associated with utilization of dental services among older adults in rural Victoria. Aust Dent J. 2014;59:504–10.PubMed
19.
Boynes SG, Heyward CC, Kenney C, Lauer-Kelly A, Nelson J, Ohrenberger K, et al. Narrowing the rural oral healthcare gap: the 2017 rural interprofessional oral health practice symposium. BMC Oral Health. 2018;18:212.PubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Institute for Health Systems Research, Institute for Public Health. National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 (NHMS 2019) Vol. II: Healthcare Demand. Selangor: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2020.
21.
Institute for Public Health. National Health and Morbidity Survey 2011 (NHMS 2011) Vol. III: Healthcare Demand. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2012.
22.
Institute for Public Health. National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 (NHMS 2015) Volume III: Healthcare Demand. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2015.
23.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. Labour Force Survey (LFS) Time Series Statistics by State, 1982–2019. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Department of Statistics Malaysia; 2020.
24.
Md Bohari NF, Kruger E, John J, Tennant M. Analysis of dental services distribution in Malaysia: a geographic information systems – based approach. Int Dent J. 2019;69:223–9.PubMed
25.
26.
Oral Health Programme. Annual Report 2020. Putrajaya: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2022.
27.
Zaharrudin NZ, Zakaria A, Shariff SH. The contributing sources for sustainable funding in Malaysian social welfare group. Int J Acad Res Bus Soc Sci. 2019;8:2111–21.
28.
Oral Health Division. Oral Healthcare in Malaysia. Putrajaya: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2005.
29.
Sahril N, Aris T, Mohd Asari AS, Yaw SL, Saleh NC, Omar MA, et al. Oral health seeking behaviour among Malaysians with type II diabetes. J Public Health Asp. 2014;1:1.
30.
Institute for Public Health (IPH) 2008. The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) 2006. General Findings. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2008.
31.
Uguru N, Onwujekwe O, Uguru C, Ogu U, Okwuosa C, Okeke C. Oral health-seeking behavior among different population groups in Enugu Nigeria. PLoS ONE. 2021;16: e0246164.PubMedPubMedCentral
32.
Khadka S, Shrestha O, Koirala G, Acharya U, Adhikari G. Health seeking behavior and self-medication practice among undergraduate medical students of a teaching hospital: a cross-sectional study. Ann Med Surg. 2012;2022(78): 103776.
33.
Andersen RM. Andersen and newman framework of health services utilization. J Health Soc Behav. 1995;36:1–10.PubMed
34.
Institute for Health Systems Research. Revision of Healthcare Demand Questionnaire for National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019. Selangor: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2018.
35.
Preshaw PM, Alba AL, Herrera D, Jepsen S, Konstantinidis A, Makrilakis K, et al. Periodontitis and diabetes: a two-way relationship. Diabetologia. 2012;55:21–31.PubMed
36.
Stanko P, Izakovicova Holla L. Bidirectional association between diabetes mellitus and inflammatory periodontal disease. A review. Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czechoslov. 2014;158:35–8.
37.
Casanova L, Hughes FJ, Preshaw PM. Diabetes and periodontal disease: a two-way relationship. Br Dent J. 2014;217:433–7.PubMed
38.
VanWormer JJ, Tambe SR, Acharya A. Oral health literacy and outcomes in rural Wisconsin adults: oral health literacy. J Rural Health. 2019;35:12–21.PubMed
39.
Hair JF, editor. Multivariate data analysis. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2010.
40.
41.
Florkowski CM. Sensitivity, specificity, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves and likelihood ratios: communicating the performance of diagnostic tests. Clin Biochem Rev. 2008;29(Suppl 1):S83–87.PubMedPubMedCentral
42.
Ramraj C, Azarpazhooh A, Dempster L, Ravaghi V, Quiñonez C. Dental treatment needs in the Canadian population: analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional survey. BMC Oral Health. 2012;12:46.PubMedPubMedCentral
43.
Sanders AE, Spencer AJ, Slade GD. Evaluating the role of dental behaviour in oral health inequalities. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2006;34:71–9.PubMed
44.
Oral Health Division. National Oral Health Survey of Adults 2010 (NOHSA 2010). Putrajaya: Ministry of Health Malaysia; 2013.
45.
Ciancio SG. Medications’ impact on oral health. J Am Dent Assoc. 2004;135:1440–8.PubMed
46.
Mubasher R, Shehzad A, Umair A, Kosar T, Muhammad SS, Zeeshan N, et al. An overview of self-medication: a major cause of antibiotic resistance and a threat to global public health. J Pak Med Assoc. 2021;71(3):943–9.
47.
Chu GT, Raja Latifah RJ. Utilization of public and private dental services in Sibu, Sarawak: a sociodemographic appraisal and types of treatment received. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2001;13:79–84.PubMed
48.
Razak IA, Ali MM. Ethnic and sex variations in dental care utilization patterns in a group of Malaysian elderly. Gerodontology. 1988;7:77–80.PubMed
49.
Jaafar S, Noh KM, Muttalib KA, Othman NH, Healy J. Malaysia Health System Review. New Delhi: World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific; 2013.
50.
Lim HH. Ethnic representation in the Malaysian bureaucracy: the development and effects of Malay domination. Int J Public Adm. 2007;30:1503–24.
51.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. Population and Housing Census 2000. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics Malaysia; 2000.
52.
Abdullah Yusof S, AbdRokis R, Wan Jusoh WJ. Financial fragility of urban households in Malaysia. J Ekon Malays. 2015;49:15–24.
53.
Lim HM, Sivasampu S, Khoo EM, Mohamad NK. Chasm in primary care provision in a universal health system: findings from a nationally representative survey of health facilities in Malaysia. PLoS ONE. 2017;12: e0172229.PubMedPubMedCentral
54.
Reda SM, Krois J, Reda SF, Thomson WM, Schwendicke F. The impact of demographic, health-related and social factors on dental services utilization: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Dent. 2018;75:1–6.PubMed
55.
World 2010 Action. World Health Organization (WHO) and others action on the social determinants of health: learning from previous experiences. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2010.
56.
Alghanim S. Self-medication practice among patients in a public health care system. East Mediterr Health J. 2011;17:409–16.PubMed
57.
Sansgiry SS, Bhansali AH, Bapat SS, Xu Q. Abuse of over-the-counter medicines: a pharmacist’s perspective. Integr Pharm Res Pract. 2017;6:1.PubMed
58.
Van Der Heide I, Wang J, Droomers M, Spreeuwenberg P, Rademakers J, Uiters E. The relationship between health, education, and health literacy: results from the Dutch adult literacy and life skills survey. J Health Commun. 2013;18:172–84.PubMedPubMedCentral
59.
60.
61.
Jawahir S, Aziz NA. Self-medication among adult population in Selangor Malaysia. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2017;9:268.
62.
Karimy M, Rezaee-Momtaz M, Tavousi M, Montazeri A, Araban M. Risk factors associated with self-medication among women in Iran. BMC Public Health. 2019;19:1–7.
63.
Ocan M, Obuku EA, Bwanga F, Akena D, Richard S, Ogwal-Okeng J, et al. Household antimicrobial self-medication: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the burden, risk factors and outcomes in developing countries. BMC Public Health. 2015;15:1–11.
64.
Reese G, Proch J, Finn C. Identification with all humanity: The role of self-definition and self-investment: global self-definition and self-investment. Eur J Soc Psychol. 2015;45:426–40.
65.
Steel BJ, Wharton C. Pharmacy counter assistants and oral health promotion: an exploratory study. Br Dent J. 2011;211:E19–E19.PubMed
66.
Tew MM, Hatah E, Arif F, Abdul Wahid MA, Makmor-Bakry M, Abdul Maulad KN. Geospatial analysis of distribution of community pharmacies and other health care facilities providing minor ailments services in Malaysia. J Pharm Policy Pract. 2021;14:1–11.
Metadata
Title
Oral healthcare seeking behavior of Malaysian adults in urban and rural areas: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019
Authors
Yeung R’ong Tan
Suhana Jawahir
Jennifer Geraldine Doss
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-023-03470-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2023

BMC Oral Health 1/2023 Go to the issue

Research

Volumetric evaluation of effects of platelet-rich fibrin and concentrated growth factor on early bone healing after endodontic microsurgery: a randomized controlled trial

Research

Association between oral health behavior and chronic diseases among middle-aged and older adults in Beijing, China

Research

Effect of abutment design on fracture resistance of resin-matrix ceramic crowns for dental implant restoration: an in vitro study

Research

Impact of COVID-19 on patient follow-up during supportive periodontal therapy: a retrospective study based on phone call survey

Research

Network analysis reveals miRNA crosstalk between periodontitis and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Research

Efficacy of curcumin gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planing on salivary procalcitonin level in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial