[Investigation on knowledge, attitudes and practice of oral heath in 275 Kazak people in Changji district].

PURPOSE

To explore the situation of Kazak people's knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about oral health and to offer scientific evidence for carrying out oral health education for Kazak people in Xinjiang Changji district.

METHODS

Three hundred Kazak people were randomly included from those who went to the People's Hospital, Department of Stomatology in Xinjiang Changji district for oral examination to conduct a survey on oral KAP. Two hundred seventy-five valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was inputted individually into Excel 2003 on 2 computers, and SPSS 17.0 software package was used for X(2) test.

RESULTS

The percentage of the examined Kazak people in Xinjiang Changji district who obtained oral health knowledge through media was 69.4%. Only 8.7% of the subjects had their oral cavity examined regularly. 44% of the subjects achieved oral heath knowledge positively and 64.4% of the subjects believed in health education. 56% of the subjects brushed teeth twice or more per day and only 4% of the subjects used dental floss. Regarding the attitude towards treating dental diseases, 69.5% of the subjects would like to choose the departments of stomatology in the central hospitals, and 6.9% of the subjects didn't care about the doctors. The unbalanced development of oral health knowledge, attitude and practice and the difference in education and income were statistically significant in oral health behavior such as the times of brushing teeth, the choice of doctors and hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

The Kazak responders in Xinjiang Changji district have little knowledge about oral health, although their attitude towards oral health is very positive. Because their oral health behavior is not satisfactory, it is very important to provide with them further education of oral health.