ASSESSMENT OF ORAL HEALTH, ORAL HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AND ORAL SELF CARE PRACTICES AMONG RURAL ELDERLY

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt

Abstract

Background:Dental disease is one of the major prevalent preventable public health
challenges that resulted in a significant burden on older adults. Aim toAssess oral health,
oral health knowledge and oral self-care practicesamong Rural Elderly. Design: Cross-
Sectional design was used. Setting: The present study was done at El- Awasja Village,
Hehia district, Sharkia Governorate. The study sample included 190 older adults selected
by multistage cluster sampling technique. Three tools of data collection: I) A structured
interview questionnaire. II) Oral Health Assessment Tool for Non-Dental Professionals.
III) Oral Health Knowledge and Oral Self-Care Practices Structured Interview
questionnaire. Results: The ages of the studied elderly ranged between 60 and 90 years
with an average of 72.64 ± 1.90 years, 63.2% of the studied elderly had poor oral
healthwhile, 36.2% of them had good oral health.76.3% of the elderly had inadequate oral
healthknowledge and 69.5% of them had poor oral self-care practice.Also, the study
revealed highly significant negative correlations between total oral health status of the
studied elderly and their oral health knowledge and their oral self-care practice.
Conclusions: More than two thirds of the studied elderly had poor oral health status,
majority of them had inadequate oral health knowledge, and poor oral self-care
practice.Age, educational level, living condition, total knowledge about oral health, total
oral self-care practice were statistically significant predictors of elderly’s total oral health
status. Recommendation: Developing and implementing appropriate and effective oral
health care programs oriented to rural elderly to improve their oral health knowledge, oral
self-care practices, and oral health status.

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