Document Type : مقاله‌های پژوهشی

Authors

• Romina Mazaheri ¹
• Naghmeh Feizi Najafi ²
• Elham ghaffari ³
• Yasaman Alamdarloo ⁴
• Ali Ghazalgoo ⁵

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Islamic Azad University Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Islamic Azad University Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran

³ Postgraduate Student, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Islamic Azad University Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran

⁴ DDS, Isfahan, Iran

⁵ Assistant Professor, Dental Research Center, Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Educating mothers regarding oral health and early childhood caries can have a great effect on improving their knowledge, attitudes and performance. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and performance of mothers of children aged 1 to 3 years in relation to oral health and early childhood caries in Shiraz.
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive analytical cross-sectional study, 202 mothers of children aged 1 to 3 years were selected randomly from those visiting 4 health centers in Shiraz and a questionnaire whose reliability and validity had been confirmed was distributed among them. Questions of the questionnaire had been designed in relation to knowledge, attitudes and performance of mothers regarding oral health and early childhood caries. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20, using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations), Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients and independent t-test.
Results: The mean knowledge, attitude and performance scores of mothers were 41.8, 61.2 and 45.2 (of 100), respectively. There were direct and significant relationships between mothers’ knowledge and attitudes (p value = 0.02) and practice (p value = 0.005); in addition, there was a direct and significant relationship between mothers’ attitudes and performance (p value = 0.04). There was no significant relationship between knowledge (p value = 0.07) and attitude (p=0.92) and age but there was a significant relationship (p value < 0.001) between performance and age. There was also a significant relationship (p value < 0.05) between knowledge, attitude and performance on one hand and mothers’ educational level, economic status of the family and employment status of mothers on the other hand. However, there was no significant relationship (p value > 0.05) with child birth rank.
Conclusion: Since the means of mothers’ knowledge and practice scores were lower than moderate level and since mothers are responsible for infants’ oral hygiene, it is important to increase the mothers’ level of knowledge and improve their attitudes and practice in this context. Therefore, educational programs are necessary for them in this respect.
Key words: Attitude, Early childhood caries, Knowledge, Mothers, Oral health, Performance.