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Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude as Determinants of Oral Health Behavior in a Sample of Old People in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Received: 14 June 2017     Accepted: 28 June 2017     Published: 27 July 2017
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Abstract

Adequate oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior are very important for the improvement of patient’s oral health. The objective of the study was to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of elderly people in Port Harcourt and determine the relationship between these variables. The research was descriptive survey and correlational in design. A total of 543 old people were selected by systematic random sampling. Data was collected with a self-developed Oral Health Assessment Questionnaire (OHAQ) designed in four sections (A-D) and analysed using SPSS version 20 (IBM SPSS Armonk, New York). Relationship between variables was established by simple regression and significance determined at 0.05 alpha level. Majority (63%) and (66%) of the pensioners in Port Harcourt Rivers State had poor knowledge of oral health and negative attitude toward oral health respectively. About 60% of the participants had poor oral health behavior. Oral health knowledge and attitude accounted for 43.56% (R2 = 0.4356) and 22.09% ((R2 = 0.2209) respectively of the variance in the behavior of the pensioners. There was a significant moderate and positive relationship between oral health knowledge and behavior (R = 0.66) and between oral health attitude and behavior (R = 0.47). The present study showed that oral health knowledge and attitude of the respondents significantly and moderately predicted their oral health behavior. There is therefore the need to educate this group on appropriate oral self-care and regular dental visits as a cornerstone to the promotion of oral health and prevention of oral diseases.

Published in European Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 5, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12
Page(s) 45-50
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Elderly, Oral Health Behavior, Oral Self-Care, Prediction

References
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  • APA Style

    Braimoh Omoigberai Bashiru, Achalu Ernest, Okpako Johnson Egodotaire. (2017). Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude as Determinants of Oral Health Behavior in a Sample of Old People in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. European Journal of Preventive Medicine, 5(4), 45-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12

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    ACS Style

    Braimoh Omoigberai Bashiru; Achalu Ernest; Okpako Johnson Egodotaire. Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude as Determinants of Oral Health Behavior in a Sample of Old People in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Eur. J. Prev. Med. 2017, 5(4), 45-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12

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    AMA Style

    Braimoh Omoigberai Bashiru, Achalu Ernest, Okpako Johnson Egodotaire. Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude as Determinants of Oral Health Behavior in a Sample of Old People in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Eur J Prev Med. 2017;5(4):45-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12,
      author = {Braimoh Omoigberai Bashiru and Achalu Ernest and Okpako Johnson Egodotaire},
      title = {Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude as Determinants of Oral Health Behavior in a Sample of Old People in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria},
      journal = {European Journal of Preventive Medicine},
      volume = {5},
      number = {4},
      pages = {45-50},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejpm.20170504.12},
      abstract = {Adequate oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior are very important for the improvement of patient’s oral health. The objective of the study was to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of elderly people in Port Harcourt and determine the relationship between these variables. The research was descriptive survey and correlational in design. A total of 543 old people were selected by systematic random sampling. Data was collected with a self-developed Oral Health Assessment Questionnaire (OHAQ) designed in four sections (A-D) and analysed using SPSS version 20 (IBM SPSS Armonk, New York). Relationship between variables was established by simple regression and significance determined at 0.05 alpha level. Majority (63%) and (66%) of the pensioners in Port Harcourt Rivers State had poor knowledge of oral health and negative attitude toward oral health respectively. About 60% of the participants had poor oral health behavior. Oral health knowledge and attitude accounted for 43.56% (R2 = 0.4356) and 22.09% ((R2 = 0.2209) respectively of the variance in the behavior of the pensioners. There was a significant moderate and positive relationship between oral health knowledge and behavior (R = 0.66) and between oral health attitude and behavior (R = 0.47). The present study showed that oral health knowledge and attitude of the respondents significantly and moderately predicted their oral health behavior. There is therefore the need to educate this group on appropriate oral self-care and regular dental visits as a cornerstone to the promotion of oral health and prevention of oral diseases.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude as Determinants of Oral Health Behavior in a Sample of Old People in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
    AU  - Braimoh Omoigberai Bashiru
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    T2  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    JF  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    JO  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8230
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20170504.12
    AB  - Adequate oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior are very important for the improvement of patient’s oral health. The objective of the study was to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of elderly people in Port Harcourt and determine the relationship between these variables. The research was descriptive survey and correlational in design. A total of 543 old people were selected by systematic random sampling. Data was collected with a self-developed Oral Health Assessment Questionnaire (OHAQ) designed in four sections (A-D) and analysed using SPSS version 20 (IBM SPSS Armonk, New York). Relationship between variables was established by simple regression and significance determined at 0.05 alpha level. Majority (63%) and (66%) of the pensioners in Port Harcourt Rivers State had poor knowledge of oral health and negative attitude toward oral health respectively. About 60% of the participants had poor oral health behavior. Oral health knowledge and attitude accounted for 43.56% (R2 = 0.4356) and 22.09% ((R2 = 0.2209) respectively of the variance in the behavior of the pensioners. There was a significant moderate and positive relationship between oral health knowledge and behavior (R = 0.66) and between oral health attitude and behavior (R = 0.47). The present study showed that oral health knowledge and attitude of the respondents significantly and moderately predicted their oral health behavior. There is therefore the need to educate this group on appropriate oral self-care and regular dental visits as a cornerstone to the promotion of oral health and prevention of oral diseases.
    VL  - 5
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Author Information
  • Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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