[Impact of comprehensive health education on oral care knowledge, attitude and practice in the elderly in long-term care institutions].

PURPOSE

To assess the impact of comprehensive health education on oral care knowledge, attitude and practice(KAP) of the elderly in the long-term care institutions and to provide references for oral health education among the elder people.

METHODS

Elder people from 2 nursing centers in Wuhan were selected. The follow-up period was 6 months. Questionnaires were used to collect social-demographic characteristics and oral care KAP data at baseline, the third month and the sixth month, respectively. Comprehensive health education, toothpaste and toothbrushes were provided at baseline and the third month. The changes of oral care KAP were observed before and after interventions. SPSS21.0 software package was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 144 subjects with a mean age of (72.43±9.41) years completed the study after 6 months. At baseline, the KAP scores were (28.57±19.19), (70.66±21.99) and (39.86±24.18), respectively. At the sixth month, the KAP scores were (91.06±9.55), (95.31±10.23) and (90.00±13.38), respectively and significant improvements were observed (F=913.714, P＜0.001; F=114.042, P＜0.001; F=349.887, P＜0.001). Oral care knowledge and attitude, knowledge and practice, attitude and practice were positively correlated（β=0.173, P=0.038; β=0.269, P=0.001; β=0.197, P=0.018）. Social-demographic characteristics had no significant effect on KAP scores (P＞0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term care institutions should strengthen oral health education and improve oral care KAP, oral health status and oral health-related quality of life of the elder people.