Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude And Practices Of Indian Tribal Children
Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude And Practices Of Indian Tribal Children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70284/njirm.v7i5.1143Keywords:
tribal children, oral health, knowledge and attitude, oral health practiceAbstract
Background: The present study aimed to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of tribal schoolchildren of Gujarat, India. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 693 tribal schoolchildren were surveyed using a self-administered, structured questionnaire. Children were grouped by age into 3 groups - 1 (3-5 years), 2 (6-9 years) and 3 (10-13 years). Analysis of Variance, Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation and linear regression analysis were used to assess the relationship between oral health knowledge-attitude (KA) scores and practice (P). Results: KA and P scores were highest for Group 2, followed by Group 3. The differences between scores of Groups 1 and 2, and Groups 1 and 3 were of statistical significance (P < 0.05). Pearson correlations between KA and P scores of study population and each study groups were positive indicating P increased with increase in KA. Linear relationship is seen between KA and P, indicating that oral health knowledge and attitude is a significant variable to predict oral health practices (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study concluded that there were deficiencies in the tribal children’s knowledge and attitude towards oral health and oral health practices. However, all knowledge was not always converted into practice. [Rajal P NJIRM 2016; 7(5):64-68]
References
2. Kawas SI, Fakhruddin KS, Rehman B. A comparative study of oral health attitudes and behavior between dental and medical students: The impact of dental education in United Arab Emirates. J Int Dent Med Res 2010;3:6-10.
3. Kawamura M, Sasahara H, Kawabata K, Iwamoto Y. Relationship between CPITN and oral health behaviour in Japanese adults. Aust Dent J 1993;38(5):381-8.
4. Honkala E. Oral health promotion with children and adolescents. In Cohen LK, Gift HC, editors. Disease prevention and oral health promotion. Cophenhagen:Munsksgaard; 1995. p.169-87.
5. Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Governmnt of India. http://tribal.nic.in/
6. Bhasin V. Oral health behaviour among Bhils of Rajasthan. J Soc Sci 2004;8(1):1-5.
7. Parker EJ, Jamieson LM, Broughton J. Oral health of indigenous children: A review of four nations. J Paediatr Child Health 2010;46(9):483-6.
8. Singh A, Bharthi MP. Oral health status and practices of 5- and 12- year-old Indian tribal children. J Clin Pediatr Dent 2011;35(3):325-30.
9. Kadir RA, Yassin AT. Oral health beliefs, practices, and attitudes towards dental health among the aborigines (Orang Asli) of Selangor, West Malasiya. Odontostomatol Trop 1996; available from http://www.santetropicale.com/resume/17305.pdf
10. Kumar TS, Dagli RJ, Mathur A, Jain M, Balasubramanyam G, Prabu D, Kulkarni S. Oral health status and practices of dentate Bhil adult tribes of Southern Rajasthan, India. Int Dent J 2009;59(3):133-40.
11. Kay E, Locker D. A systematic review of the effectiveness of health promotion aimed at improving oral health. Comunity Dent Health 1998;15(3):132-44.
12. Freeman R, Maizels J, Wyllie M, Sheiham A. The relationship between health-related knowledge, attitudes and dental health behaviours in 14-16-year-old adolescents. Community Dent Health 1993;10(4):397-404.
13. Smyth E, Caamaño F, Fernández-Riveiro P. Oral health knowledge, attitudes and practice in 12-year-old schoolchildren. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal 2007;12(8):614-20.
