Abstract
Oral health literacy (OHL) is important in empowering people to improve their general and oral health. Carers’ OHL may be associated with their ability to deliver good oral healthcare to their children. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the OHL among carers of special needs children. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study of carers in four Community-Based Rehabilitation Centre. Data were collected through a structured face-to-face interview of 40 carers. Oral Health Literacy Malay Version (OHLI-M) was measured using text passages and prompts with a total of 57 items. These items were used to assess comprehension and numerical ability of carers based on domains namely, accessing dental care, understand appointment and following medication instructions. The results showed that majority of the participants had ‘marginal’ and ‘adequate’ OHL level of 32.5% and 52.5%, respectively. Only four (10%) participants had ‘inadequate’ OHL level. The ‘reading comprehension’ and ‘numeracy’ sections’ mean scores were 37.54 (95% CI 35.7-39.4) and 38.17 (95% CI 34.8-41.6). The total OHL mean score was 75.7 (95% CI 71.2-80.2). In conclusion, majority of the carers of special needs children in this sample had moderate OHL. Such information is important to develop more appropriate intervention programmes for carers to match their OHL.
Highlights
Oral health literacy (OHL) is important in empowering people to improve their general and oral health
Awareness on the importance of OHL in dentistry has grown and efforts have been directed at adapting the concept of health literacy to dental practice and research [3]
The Malay version of the Oral Health Literacy Instrument (OHLI-M) was cross culturally adapted and its psychometric properties been tested on a sample of adult [17]
Summary
Oral health literacy (OHL) is important in empowering people to improve their general and oral health. Carers’ OHL may be associated with their ability to deliver good oral healthcare to their children The aim of this pilot study was to assess the OHL among carers of special needs children. Oral Health Literacy Malay Version (OHLI-M) was measured using text passages and prompts with a total of 57 items These items were used to assess comprehension and numerical ability of carers based on domains namely, accessing dental care, understand appointment and following medication instructions. Awareness on the importance of OHL in dentistry has grown and efforts have been directed at adapting the concept of health literacy to dental practice and research [3] It is a new area in research globally and limited study has been reported locally. The Malay version of the Oral Health Literacy Instrument (OHLI-M) was cross culturally adapted and its psychometric properties been tested on a sample of adult [17]
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