Navdeep Kaur1, Daniel Kandelman2, Louise Potvin3. 1. Postdoctoral researcher, Method development platform, Quebec SPOR-SUPPORT Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 2. Associate professor, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 3. Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Institut de recherche en santé publique, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal; Centre de recherche Léa-Roback, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Research shows that immigrants have higher rates of oral diseases, poorer access to dental care services, and lower levels of health literacy than their Canadian-born peers. Oral health literacy has emerged as a potential pathway to reduce oral health disparities. The scarcity of studies on oral health literacy interventions, particularly among immigrants, lent urgency to this study, the purpose of which was to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral health literacy intervention promoting oral hygiene self-care behaviour among Punjabi immigrants. METHODS: The study used a parallel group, non-blinded, randomized controlled trial design. One hundred and forty (140) Punjabi immigrants between 18 and 60 years of age were enrolled. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either the Safeguard Your Smile (SYS) intervention or a conventional pamphlet. The following outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 3 months post-intervention: self-reported oral hygiene self-care behaviour and knowledge, plaque and gingival indices, and oral health literacy. A linear mixed model for repeated measures was used to compare the intervention and control groups (between) at pre- and post-intervention (within). RESULTS: Participants who received the SYS intervention showed improvements ( p <0.0001) for the following dependent variables: oral hygiene self-care knowledge and behaviour, oral health literacy, and plaque and gingival indices. CONCLUSIONS: SYS intervention enhanced positive oral hygiene self-care behaviour among Punjabi immigrants with low oral health literacy. SYS intervention can be employed among other vulnerable groups with low levels of oral health literacy to improve oral hygiene self-care behaviour.
BACKGROUND: Research shows that immigrants have higher rates of oral diseases, poorer access to dental care services, and lower levels of health literacy than their Canadian-born peers. Oral health literacy has emerged as a potential pathway to reduce oral health disparities. The scarcity of studies on oral health literacy interventions, particularly among immigrants, lent urgency to this study, the purpose of which was to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral health literacy intervention promoting oral hygiene self-care behaviour among Punjabi immigrants. METHODS: The study used a parallel group, non-blinded, randomized controlled trial design. One hundred and forty (140) Punjabi immigrants between 18 and 60 years of age were enrolled. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either the Safeguard Your Smile (SYS) intervention or a conventional pamphlet. The following outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 3 months post-intervention: self-reported oral hygiene self-care behaviour and knowledge, plaque and gingival indices, and oral health literacy. A linear mixed model for repeated measures was used to compare the intervention and control groups (between) at pre- and post-intervention (within). RESULTS: Participants who received the SYS intervention showed improvements ( p <0.0001) for the following dependent variables: oral hygiene self-care knowledge and behaviour, oral health literacy, and plaque and gingival indices. CONCLUSIONS: SYS intervention enhanced positive oral hygiene self-care behaviour among Punjabi immigrants with low oral health literacy. SYS intervention can be employed among other vulnerable groups with low levels of oral health literacy to improve oral hygiene self-care behaviour.