Abstract

ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES TOWARDS ORAL HEALTH AMONG NURSING STUDENTS, VISNAGAR, GUJARAT

*Dr. Rajesh N. Patel, Dr. Madhusudan Krishna, Dr. Umesh K, Dr. Sangeeta Chavan, Dr. Rahul Patel, Dr. Hiren Patel, Dr. Nidhi Sabhaya, Dr. Avani Bhanushali.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the oral health related knowledge, attitude, and practice of the students of Nootan College of Nursing, Visnagar. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 193 students of Nootan College of nursing by using self-administered questionnaire. It was conducted as a classroom survey; 7th April 2015 to 28th April 2015. Oral examination was carried out by recording DMFS/DMFT index, Dean‟s Fluorosis index and gingival index. Results: Only 13% of the nursing students knew that dental caries occurs due to sweet and sticky food, majority of them 63.7% could knew the cause of gum diseases, a enough number of the nursing students (42.5%) knew about the dental treatment aspects of a pregnant lady, and majority of nursing students thought that oral health related information should be included in their curriculum that suggest positive attitude of nursing students towards oral health. Conclusions: In the context of oral health, whatever amount of knowledge the subjects already has about healthcare and associated preventive measures, better positive attitudes can always be achieved at every step of their learning process.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude practice study, nursing students, oral health.