Open AccessORAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN;
Author(s) -
Aisha Byanaku,
Deogratias Stanslaus Rwakatema
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the professional medical journal/the professional medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2071-7733
pISSN - 1024-8919
DOI - 10.29309/tpmj/2013.20.03.697
Subject(s) - medicine , tanzania , family medicine , thematic analysis , marital status , focus group , pregnancy , logistic regression , oral health , qualitative research , environmental health , population , sociology , social science , environmental science , environmental planning , marketing , biology , business , genetics
Objective: To assess level of knowledge, attitude and practice on oral health mong pregnant women attending antenatalcare clinic in Morogoro Municipal, Tanzania. Design: A cross sectional study. Setting: Morogoro Municipality, Morogoro Region,Tanzania. Subjects and Methods: Pre tested questionnaires were administered randomly to 216 participants attending antenatal careclinic seeking to find out quantitative data on their specific socio-demographic characteristics, oral health knowledge, attitude andpractice in 2012. A sample of 26 par ticipants was involved in focus group discussions (FGD's). Questionnaire data were analyzed byStata Version 12.1 programme. Chi-square test and Logistic regression models were used. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant.FGD's qualitative data analysis was done manually using thematic framework analysis. Results: Majority (73%) of the participants hadadequate oral health knowledge. About 76% of the respondents agreed to the positive statements towards oral health. Focus GroupDiscussions revealed negative attitude towards dental treatment during pregnancy. Adequate oral health practice was found in majority ofthe participants (72%). Levels of education and marital status of the participants were found to be strongly associated with oral healthpractice (p-value < 0.05). Conclusions: Majority of the participants had overall adequate knowledge, practice and positive attitudetowards oral health. However, unsatisfactory knowledge on possible connections between bleeding gums and pregnancy and negativeattitude towards dental visits were noted. Level of education was significantly associated with oral health practice and attitude. Dentalvisits from the first stages of pregnancy should be part of antenatal care clinic in this community.