Oral Health Literacy among a Selected Group of Final year Medical Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Oral health literacy affects the oral health and quality of life of an individual and may be influenced by age, gender, and socioeconomic status of that individual.
Objectives: The aim was to assess the level of oral health literacy among a group of final year medical students and evaluate the association between age, gender, socioeconomic status and, their level of oral health literacy.
Methods: A cross-sectional study among final-year medical students was carried out using the oral health literacy-adult questionnaire (OHL-AQ). Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 and statistical significance was considered at p<0.05
Results: The mean age of the participants was 25+ 4.0 years. Majority (67.3%) had adequate level of oral health literacy with a mean oral health literacy score of 12.3+3.0. There were no statistically significant associations between the age of students, gender and level of oral health literacy, however females had better oral health literacy scores than the males. A higher proportion (76.6%) of those of high socioeconomic status (SES) had higher level of oral health literacy (p=0.02). Females had higher level of decisionmaking ability than the males (p=0.01) while those of high socioeconomic status had higher level of comprehension (p=0.004) and listening ability (p=0.04) than those in middle and low socioeconomic status.
Conclusion: Participants of high socioeconomic status had higher level of oral health literacy, better comprehension of questions on oral health and listened to instructions better. Females made better oral health decisions than males.