Opinions of the commuters to receive oral health messages in South central railway zone India: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: The railroads of India are the fourth most heavily used system in the world. Railways are one of the main modes of transport and millions of people travel by train daily. Aim: To know the opinions of commuters in receiving oral health messages in railways station through various methods and also their knowledge and practice regarding oral hygiene. Materials and Methods: Using convenient sampling method data from the commuters was obtained by a pretested questionnaire through interview method from 14 railway stations of South Central Railway zone. Pearson Chi-square test was used to compare the opinions of commuters based on their gender to receive oral health messages. Results: A total of 596 (97.3%) responded to the survey; a maximum of 297 (49.8%) subjects strongly agreed to the statement that railway platforms should have informative posters on oral health. A maximum of 188 (31.5%) commuters strongly agreed that prerecorded messages on oral health if played before the announcement of arrival and departure of train will be helpful to spread oral health awareness. Majority of 43% commuters (255) preferred to receive oral hygiene instructions printed on back side of the ticket followed by messages on television and through posters. Conclusion: Majority of the commuters preferred to receive oral health information in railways stations. Hence, efforts can be directed in spreading oral health information among public through railways.