Abstract
Objective: The study aimed to estimate the prevalence and correlates of oral hygiene (OH) and hand hygiene (HH) behavior among school adolescents in three Caribbean countries. Method: In all, 7476 school adolescents (median age 14 years) from the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago responded to the cross-sectional Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) in 2016–2017. Results: The prevalence of poor OH (tooth brushing < 2 times/day) was 16.9%, poor HH (not always before meals) was 68.2%, poor HH (not always after toilet) was 28.4%, and poor HH (not always with soap) was 52.7%. In the adjusted logistic regression analysis, current cannabis use, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, poor mental health, and low parental support increased the odds for poor OH. Rarely or sometimes experiencing hunger, trouble from alcohol use, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, poor mental health, and low parental support were associated with poor HH (before meals and/or after the toilet, and/or with soap). Conclusion: The survey showed poor OH and HH behavior practices. Several sociodemographic factors, health risk behaviors, poor mental health, and low parental support were associated with poor OH and/or HH behavior that can assist with tailoring OH and HH health promotion.
Highlights
Oral hygiene (OH) (“tooth brushing ≥ 2/day”) is a major tool to prevent and control periodontal diseases and dental caries [1]
There is a lack of recent national information on OH and hand hygiene (HH) among adolescents in Caribbean countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago [4]
In a study among school-going adolescents in nine African countries, the results showed that 22.7% had poor OH, 62.2% had poor HH, 58.4% had poor HH, and 35.0%
Summary
Oral hygiene (OH) (“tooth brushing ≥ 2/day”) is a major tool to prevent and control periodontal diseases and dental caries [1]. Despite the potential positive impact of good OH and HH, the prevalence of good OH and HH practices among adolescents is low [3,4,5,6,7,8]. There is a lack of recent national information on OH and HH among adolescents in Caribbean countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago [4]. In the Dominican Republic, “risk factors for diarrhea and cholera transmission include poor adherence to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices such as consistent hand washing” [9,10,11]. In Suriname, the prevalence of caries in schoolchildren was moderate to high (using WHO criteria), and the majority of children had dental caries [12]. The prevalence of tooth-cleaning (≥2 times/day) among adults in the Dominican Republic was 94.2% [13]
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