Abstract
Health literacy is the ability of a person to understand instructions on prescription, appointment cards, health education pamphlets, doctor’s directions and consent forms. A common reason for misunderstanding health instructions may be the patient’s low health literacy skills. Therefore the present study was conducted with the aim of assessing the oral health literacy and its association with socioeconomic status and Oral health related behaviour among University students in Chennai City. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 362 students of a private University in Chennai City. The subjects were selected using stratified random sampling from different faculty of studies. Oral health literacy was assessed using a validated instrument, the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-30). The overall mean REALD-30 score of the participants was 19.13+5.6. The mean REALD-30 scores were lowest among students in the low socioeconomic status and highest among those in high class. The Mean REALD-30 scores among participants who rinsed their mouth were higher than those who did not rinse. About 46% had oral pain or discomfort during the past one year and their mean OHL score was significantly higher than those who did not had any pain or discomfort. The present study concludes that the overall oral health literacy of the study population is moderate and it does have a relationship with socioeconomic status and oral health behaviour although the different educational categories don’t influence it. Further studies are required to establish one to one causal relationship.
Highlights
Health literacy is the ability of a person to understand instructions on prescription, appointment cards, health education pamphlets, doctor’s directions and consent forms
A common reason for misunderstanding health instructions may be the patient’s low health literacy skills. the present study was conducted with the aim of assessing the oral health literacy and its association with socioeconomic status and Oral health related behaviour among University students in Chennai City
The present study concludes that the overall oral health literacy of the study population is moderate and it does have arelationship with socioeconomic status and oral health behaviour the different educational categories don’t influence it
Summary
Health literacy is the ability of a person to understand instructions on prescription, appointment cards, health education pamphlets, doctor’s directions and consent forms. A common reason for misunderstanding health instructions may be the patient’s low health literacy skills. the present study was conducted with the aim of assessing the oral health literacy and its association with socioeconomic status and Oral health related behaviour among University students in Chennai City. Poor health literacy is linked with worse health and reduced understanding of prevention, maintenance, and self-care instructions provided by the health care professional These abilities are predominantly critical in the managingchronic diseases.[3]. Oral health literacy (OHL) is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic oral health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.4Most of the patients acquire information from various sources, but the information provided to them by their dentist and dental team members serve to guide and inform their ability for optimum oral health self-care and decision-making related to health overall. The communication skills of the dental team contribute to a patient’s oral health literacy that in turn resultsin improved oral health outcomes.[5]
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