Parents 'awareness on the importance of oral health in preschool children: Parents' attitudes and socio-economic status

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health is closely related in several ways to the general health of each person. Certain habits, attitudes and behaviors related to oral health begin to form very early in the process of primary socialization, so that the family largely participates in their formation. The aim of this paper is to determine the correlation between parents' attitudes to the difficulties in the care of the teeth and the knowledge of the parents of preschool children about the importance of oral health and their socioeconomic status in Jagodina and Pirot. Methods: The research was designed as a cross-sectional study using the method of interviews with parents adapted for epidemiological research on the ground. The technique of surveying and scaling was used. The questionnaire was used as a research instrument, while the data on the oral health of the examined children were obtained by the usual dental examinations, according to the methodology of the World Health Organisation for pre-school children. Results: The highest coefficient b is 0.429, which is the value for the environmental variable. This single variable contributes most to explaining the dependent variable. A smaller b coefficient for the sex of the child (b=0.286) indicates a smaller contribution. The smallest contribution is made by the variables monthly income and family type. Statistically significant indicators of the correlation of parents' attitudes with educational and economic status of the parents (maternal education status and total monthly income) were obtained. Conclusion: Attitudes on the health of the mouth and teeth of the interviewed parents and their children are directly related to their health habits, attitudes and behavior: the presence of the risk of occurrence of oral diseases in children shows a high percentage expected in view of the health habits, attitudes and behavior of the parents, as well as their socio-economic status.

Uvod: Oralno zdravlje je višestruko i tesno povezano sa opštim zdravljem svake osobe. Određene navike, stavovi i ponašanje u vezi sa oralnim zdravljem počinju da se formiraju vrlo rano, u procesu primarne socijalizacije, tako da porodica najvećim delom učestvuje u njihovom formiranju. Cilj ovog rada je utvrđivanje povezanosti između stavova roditelja o poteškoćama u nezi zuba i znanja roditelja dece predškolskog uzrasta o značaju oralnog zdravlja i njihovog socioekonomskog statusa u Jagodini i Pirotu. Materijal i metode: Istraživanje je oblikovano kao studija preseka, metodom intervjua sa roditeljima prilagođene za epidemiološko istraživanje na terenu. Korišćena je tehnika anketiranja i skaliranja. Kao instrument istraživanja korišćen je upitnik, dok su podaci o oralnom zdravlju ispitivane dece dobijeni uobičajenim stomatološkim pregledima, prema metodologiji Svetske Zdravstvene Organizacije za predškolsku decu. Rezultati: Najveći koeficijent b iznosi 0.429, što je vrednost za promenljivu životna sredina. Ova promenljiva pojedinačno najviše doprinosi objašnjavanju zavisne varijable. Manji b koeficijent za pol deteta (b=0.286) ukazuje na manji doprinos. Najmanji doprinos daju promenljive mesečni prihodi i tip porodice. Dobijeni su statistički značajni pokazatelji povezanosti stavova roditelja sa obrazovnim i ekonomskim statusom roditelja (obrazovnim statusom majke i ukupnim mesečnim prihodima). Zaključak: Stavovi o zdravlju usta i zuba anketiranih roditelja i njihove dece u direktnom su odnosu s njihovim zdravstvenim navikama, stavovima i ponašanjem: prisutstvo rizika za pojavu oralnih oboljenja kod dece u visokom je procentu očekivan s obzirom na zdravstvene navike, stavove i ponašanje roditelja, kao i na njihov socio-ekonomski status.