Oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices of the elderly in Ajman, UAE

ABSTRACT

To assess oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices of elderly and to identify barriers which affect receiving oral health services by the elderly. A cross sectional study was conducted including males and females aged >60 years attending the GMC hospital and Al Mushaerif PHC Center. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit the participants. The administered questionnaire, interviewer Validated, was used. A scoring system was used to assess the knowledge and practice of participants. Individuals with < average scores were considered to have poor knowledge and inadequate practice. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software 20. X[2] test, simple and multiple logistic regression analysis were used. A p value <0.05 was the significance level. The study included 423 participants, mostly 60-69years old [55.5%], females [58.2%], Emirati [63.2%], currently unmarried [60.2%], living with family members [44.3%], having >12 years of education [59%] medical insurance [60.8%] dental insurance 41.0%. The most frequent barrier that affect receiving oral health services is [being unable to afford the payment] [24.5%]. A 20.3% of participants had zero knowledge score, 62% had poor knowledge and 87.9% had inadequate practices. The probability of poor knowledge was significantly higher among older age group [OR 4.9; CI 2.0-12.4, p=0.001], living with other family members [OR 2.9; CI1.6-5.3, p<0.001], and Emirati [OR2.6; CI2.3-5.4, p<0.001]. Probability of inadequate practices was significantly higher among unmarried [OR 2.7; CI 1.4-5.0] and Emirati [OR 3.1;CI 1.7-5.7]. A great proportion of elderly had poor knowledge and inadequate oral hygiene practices. Ethnic and social factors are significant determinants of poor knowledge and inadequate practices. Economic factor was the most common barrier