Assessment of oral health literacy among adults of the nomadic population

Abstract

Background and Aims: One of the most important determinants of health is Oral Health Literacy (OHL). The aim of this study was to investigate the OHL among nomadic population in Kouhrang city as pristine society. Materials and Methods: This was a cross -sectional descriptive study among 200 nomadic population aged 18-60 years of Kouhrang city in 2018. Data were collected using a questionnaire and face-to-face interview, sampling method was performed by randomized cluster. The questionnaire consisted of 17 questions in 4 sections of reading comprehension, listening, perception of number, and decision making. According to the number of questions, the questionnaire score was formed 0 to 17 and the nomadic populations were categorized into three groups with inadequate OHL (0-9), borderline OHL (10-11), and adequate OHL (912-17). Results: The mean and standard deviation of the participants in this study was 35.49±12.00. The results showed that 7.00% of participants had sufficient OHL (12-17), 21.51% borderline (10-11), and 71.50% had inadequate OHL (0-9). The mean and standard deviation of OHL score in general was 7.65±2.80, and the mean DMFT index was 8.03±5.64 (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the OHL score in the nomadic population was low, and also the mean DMFT index was very high. It is necessary to pay attention to the timely prevention and treatment of the teeth, as well as serious attention to the health education in this population.

Keywords

• health literacy
• oral and dental
• nomads