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VOLUME 9 , ISSUE 2 ( May-August, 2015 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Adult Oral Health Literacy Among Urban And Peri-Urban Population In And Around Chennai, India - A Comparative Study

A Raj, P Sugavanesh, PDM Kumar, SS Sivasamy, IN Balan

Citation Information : Raj A, Sugavanesh P, Kumar P, Sivasamy S, Balan I. Adult Oral Health Literacy Among Urban And Peri-Urban Population In And Around Chennai, India - A Comparative Study. J Oral Health Comm Dent 2015; 9 (2):50-54.

DOI: 10.5005/johcd-9-2-50

License: NA

Published Online: 01-06-2017

Copyright Statement:  NA


Abstract

Aim

Poor oral health literacy can impede one's ability to seek oral health and make appropriate oral health care decisions. The study was conducted with an aim to assess and compare the oral health literacy among urban and peri-urban adult population in Chennai, India.

Materials and Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted among 100 subjects each selected from peri-urban and urban areas in Chennai city. The oral health literacy was assessed by administering the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-30). The data obtained was analyzed using Mann Whitney U test.

Results

The mean oral health literacy score for peri-urban people was 2.7 ± 1.19 and for urban people was 6.35 ± 2.12 and this difference was statistically significant (z value -10.37, p value - 0.001).

Conclusion

The oral health literacy of peri-urban adult population was found to be low when compared to the urban population.


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