Belief, Knowledge, and Practice about Oral Health Care of Middle-aged Women / 여성건강간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was performed to identify the relationship between belief, knowledge, and practice about oral health care of middle-aged women, and to prepare baseline data for developing a dental health education and promotion program. METHOD: For the survey, 120 individuals(middle-aged women) were chosen by convenience sampling and agreed to participate in the study. Their belief, knowledge, and practice about oral health care were measured. For descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Tukey and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used with SPSS Win 14.0. RESULT: The level of belief and practice about oral health care was middle for the subjects. However, the level of knowledge about oral health care was relatively high. The level of practice about oral health care related to characteristics of subjects showed significant differences according to level of education and oral health status. There was no significant correlation between the level of practice and the belief about oral health care. The practice about oral health care showed a significant positive correlation with knowledge. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate a need for the development of oral health care programs that is effective in improving belief, knowledge, and practice about oral health care reported by middle-aged women.