Abstract:
To asses the knowledge, attitude and practice of Libyan mothers towards
the oral health of their children, which may be the first step in identifying
areas of weakness and trying to change behaviors in order to develop
proper oral health outcomes for children in the society.
Methods:
Across sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of
Libyan mothers of preschool children attending public and private health
clinics at Benghazi city, during the period between January and June
2021. Self-administrated questionnaire consisting of four sections
including 29 questions which took about 10 minutes to complete, was
used for data collection. The data was analyzed using SPSS25 software.
All statistical tests were set 0.05 significance level.
Results:
A total of 402 Libyan mothers, who were19 to 52 years old. The majority
of respondents were housewives (230,57.2%) who had university
education (226,56.2%). Most of participants (363,90%) reported that they
did not receive oral health education. In general mothers showed average
knowledge score (5.1± 1.8) and lower attitude (3.7± 1.0), and Practice
(2.9± 1.1) scores. Significant association found between dental health
knowledge, attitude and practice and mothers’ education. In addition,
mothers who attend public clinic and those who have 3 children or more
showed significantly better oral health practices (p≤0.05).
Conclusion:
The present study showed that Libyan mothers have generally inadequate
knowledge, non -positive attitude and poor behaviors in relation to oral
health of their children. Education and family sized appeased to influence
oral health related behaviours.
