Predictors of oral health literacy in pregnant women.

HEALTH education; DENTIFRICES; ACADEMIC medical centers; CONFIDENCE intervals; ANALYSIS of variance; ORAL health; CROSS-sectional method; MULTIPLE regression analysis; AGE distribution; TOOTH care & hygiene; PREGNANT women; SATISFACTION; HELP-seeking behavior; GESTATIONAL age; DENTAL care; HEALTH literacy; ATTITUDES toward illness; WATER fluoridation; DENTAL floss; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; CHI-squared test; EMPLOYMENT; PARITY (Obstetrics); HEALTH attitudes; PRENATAL care; STATISTICAL sampling; DATA analysis software; RECEIVER operating characteristic curves; EDUCATIONAL attainment; REPRODUCTIVE history; PREGNANCY

We determined factors associate with oral health literacy of pregnant women. A total of 203 pregnant women attending Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for antenatal care participated in this cross-sectional study. The Malay version of Oral Health Literacy Instrument (OHLI-M) and a structured self-administered questionnaire were used to obtain variables of interest. The mean OHLI-M score was 73.6 (SD 12.59). Only slightly more than half of our participants had adequate oral health literacy (54.2%), while others were marginal (31.0%) and inadequate (14.8%). Our findings revealed that women with adequate oral health literacy were more likely to be those with higher education qualification and were very satisfied or satisfied with their oral health status. The identification of these predictors highlighted the importance to keep oral health education messages simple and clear for the benefit of individuals with low educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Health Care for Women International is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)