Parents’ Oral and Dental Health Literacy and Its Relation to the Health Status of the Children Visiting Referral Hospitals in 2023

Abstract

Health literacy is among the contributing factors in promoting oral and dental health. Parents can influence their children’s health awareness and improve their health-related behaviors. This study investigated the relationship between parents’ oral and dental health literacy and the oral and dental health of the children visiting Kerman’s referral hospitals. This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study randomly selected 506 parents who brought their children to Kerman referral hospitals in 2023. Data were gathered via a demographic questionnaire and the Parental Oral Health Literacy Measure (POHELM) questionnaire. The results were assessed via the chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test, Fisher’s correlation, Tukey’s post hoc test, and ANOVA using SPSS ver. 26. The total score of the participants’ health literacy was 63.04 ± 14.71. There was an inverse and significant correlation between the total score of the parent’s health literacy and their age. There was also a significant relation between this score and the parent’s level of education, the parent’s perception of the child’s dental and oral health level, the number of visits to the dentist, tooth brushing, flossing, and mouthwash use (P < 0.001). The total health literacy score was significantly higher in the mothers than in the fathers. It is recommended that health policymakers pay more attention to the factors contributing to parents’ oral health literacy. Moreover, suitable accommodations should be provided to improve parents’ oral health literacy so as to improve their children’s dental and oral health status.