Oral health related knowledge and practices amongst health care workers-A follow-up study

Health workers have been said to be co-educators of their patients on ideal dental care. They are able to carry out the role because they may be the first to come in contact with patients with dental issues. Aim: The present follow-up study was carried out to assess the oral health related knowledge and practices of health care workers of community health center before and after oral health education. This study was conducted among 52 health care workers of Community Health Center. A pre-tested proforma containing structured close ended questionnaire including 20 questions from Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) was used to collect the data. This instrument was administered to the health workers to assess the oral health related knowledge and practices. A training session on oral health education was taken to health care workers who consented to participate. After 3 months the same questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and practices among these workers. Result showed that there was statistical difference in the oral health related knowledge after the oral health education. There was also improvement in the oral health practices among health care workers. When free dental checkup camp was organized to the participants the response rate was found to be 47.5%. There was improvement in oral health related knowledge and practices among health care workers after the training session on oral health education.