Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Oral Hygiene among Primary School Children in Selected Schools at Kottarakkara

Akhila Ashok, Abhirami P, Aleena Ann Bij, Ansalna N, Austin Rajees, Gouri R, Manjima Ajith, Rincy Reji, Sneha Shibu, Sona L

Abstract


A quantitative study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding oral hygiene among primary school children in selected schools at Kottarakkara. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge regarding oral hygiene among primary school children, to assess the attitude regarding oral hygiene among primary school children, to find the association between knowledge regarding oral hygiene among primary school children and selected demographic variables, to find the association between attitude regarding oral hygiene among primary school children and selected demographic variables, and to test the correlation between knowledge and attitude regarding oral hygiene among primary school children. The sample size was 50; samples were selected using non-probability convenient sampling technique and then provided with structured knowledge questionnaire and attitude scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the gathered data. Out of 50 elementary school students, the study found that 4 (8%) had insufficient understanding, 44 (88%) had intermediate knowledge, and 2 (4%) had appropriate knowledge. The result shows that there is no significant relationship between knowledge and selected demographic variables such as age (Chi-square = 3.141, p = 7.82), gender (Chi-square = 0.355, p = 3.84), religion (Chi-square = 1.502, p = 5.99), type of family (Chi-square = 3.457, p = 5.99), area of residence (Chi-square = 0.665 ,p = 53.84), father's occupation (Chi-square = 2.605, p = 7.82), mother's occupation (Chi-square = 4.935, p = 7.82), food preferences (Chi-square = 0.355, p = 3.84). But there is significant relationship between knowledge and source of previous information regarding oral hygiene (Chi-square = 13.046, p = 12.59). There is no significant relationship between attitude and selected demographic variables such as age xi (Chi-square = 3.141, p = 7.82), gender (Chi-square = 0.355, p = 3.84), religion (Chi-square = 1.502, p = 5.99), type of family (Chi-square = 3.45, p = 5.98), area of residence (Chi-square = 0.665, p = 3.84), father's occupation (Chi-square = 2.605, p = 7.82), mother's occupation (Chi-square = 4.935, p = 7.82), food preference (Chi-square = 0.355, p = 3.84). There is a weak to moderate positive correlation between knowledge and attitude regarding oral hygiene among primary school children (r value = 0.263). Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Oral hygiene, Primary school children.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Park, K. (2023). Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine (27th ed., p. 460). Bhanot Publishers.

Sharma, S., Potter, P., & Perry, A. (2021). Potter and Perry's fundamentals of nursing (3rd South Asian ed., p. 732). Elsevier Health Sciences.

Ghaib, O. P. (2001). Essentials of pediatrics (15th ed., pp. 136–142). V. Publications.

Whaley, & Wong. (1999). Nursing care of infants and children (4th ed., pp. 151–153). W. B. Saunders Company.

Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2008). Nursing research (8th ed., p. 453). Lippincott Publishers.

Ashalatha, P. R. (2021). Textbook of anatomy for BSc nursing students (3rd ed., pp. 66–71). Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers.

Dhingra, P. L., & Dhingra, S. (2010). Diseases of ear, nose and throat (5th ed., pp. 227–235). Elsevier.

Singh, V. (2014). Textbook of anatomy: Head, neck and brain (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 5–7). Elsevier.

Rizzo, D. C. (2007). Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology (2nd ed., pp. 367–370). Thomson Publishers.

Dutta, P. (2012). Pediatric nursing (2nd ed., p. 448). Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers.

Sharma, P. (2021). A comparative study on attitudes toward oral hygiene among primary school children in public and private schools in Karnataka. Indian Journal of Dental Research, 32(4), 210–214.

Umadevi, R. (2023). A descriptive study on attitude and practices regarding oral hygiene among primary school children in an urban area of Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 10(2), 95–100.

Jabeen, C., & Umbreen, G. (2023). A cross-sectional descriptive study on oral hygiene knowledge and practices among primary school children in Ali Raza Abad, Lahore. Pakistan Journal of Public Health, 13(1), 255–257.

Rao, S., & Kulkarni, P. (2015). Oral hygiene knowledge among primary school children in Karnataka: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry, 13(2), 189–194.

Sharma, A., & Mehta, R. (2018). Association between oral hygiene attitude and demographic variables among primary school children in Bangalore: A cross-sectional study. Indian Journal of Dental Research, 29(3), 210–215.

Smith, J., & Brown, L. (2021). Oral hygiene among children: Current perspectives. International Journal of Women’s Health, 13(4), 245–252. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S289300

Sekhar, V., Shankar, P., Easwaran, M. A., et al. (2021). Knowledge, attitude and practice towards oral health in Pondicherry. Journal of Clinical Diagnosis and Research, 8(8), ZC12–ZC15. https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10015-1842

Subedi, K., Shrestha, A., Bhagat, T., & Baral, D. (2021). Effectiveness of oral health education intervention among 12–15-year-old school children in Dharan, Nepal: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Oral Health, 21, 525. https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/datastatistics/surgeongeneral/report/executivesummary.html


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.