An assessment of Knowledge ,Attitude ,and Practice of Libyan Mothers towards the Oral Health of Their Children

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.