Knowledge and attitude toward oral health behavior of overseas students during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Oral Health · 3 authors, 3 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

Key results showed that studying in health science programs was associated with significantly higher knowledge and attitude scores.

Full summary

264 CHARS

Key results showed that studying in health science programs was associated with significantly higher knowledge and attitude scores. There was a positive correlation between knowledge and behavior scores (r=0.198) and between attitude and behavior scores (r=0.212).

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10612182

Knowledge and attitude toward oral health behavior of overseas students during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Oral Health

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted overseas students, including their oral health. Due to movement restrictions, limited living allowances, dental treatment costs, and health insurance fees, overseas students might be more concerned about their oral health. The objective of the present study was to determine the association of knowledge and attitude toward oral healthcare behavior of overseas university students staying in Thailand between January 2020 to July 2022 and explore the experiences of their oral health problems. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey in English operated through the Google platform by convenience sampling among overseas Chulalongkorn University students. A newly developed self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and attitude toward oral health-related behavior and experiences in oral health problems was completed voluntarily. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlations were employed using IBM SPSS version 29. Results Of 311 overseas students, 55.6% were male. The average age of students was 27.5 ± 4.5 years. 68.81% of students were from ASEAN countries, and 73.31% studied in non-health science programs. The study fields, health and non-health sciences, were associated with knowledge score (p < 0.001) and attitude score (p = 0.004), whereas the type of health insurance had an association with behavior score (p = 0.014) and the student’s perspective about dental visits (p = 0.014). Three hundred fifty-nine cases of oral health problems were experienced by 47.3% of overseas students. These problems consisted primarily of tooth hypersensitivity (21.2%), gingivitis (15.3%), caries (14%), cracked or broken tooth (10%), severe toothache (9%), fallen out filling (8%), and wisdom tooth pain (7.8%). There was an association between oral healthcare behavior and oral health problems (p < 0.001), and a negative correlation was found between behavior score and the number of oral health problems (p < 0.001, r=-0.204). Conclusion The oral healthcare habits of overseas university students correlated positively with knowledge and attitude. A negative correlation was observed between behavior and the number of oral health problems. Furthermore, studying in health science programs impacted students’ knowledge and attitude toward oral health, while dental treatment coverage insurance affected decisions for dental visits. Keywords: Attitude, Behaviors, COVID-19, Knowledge, Oral healthcare, Overseas university students

CITATION EXPORT

Isi Susanti, Pagaporn Pantuwadee Pisarnturakit, Neeracha Sanchavanakit. Knowledge and attitude toward oral health behavior of overseas students during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Oral Health. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-023-03420-1

AUTHORS

3 · 3 CENTRES

Isi Susanti, Pagaporn Pantuwadee Pisarnturakit, Neeracha Sanchavanakit

1Oral Biology Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330 Thailand
2Department of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330 Thailand
3Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330 Thailand