Association of level of education and utilization of restorative dental care among rural women in India: Cross-sectional study

Autor: Neeta Shetty, Kundabala Mala, B S Suprabha, Ramya Shenoy
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Indian Journal of Dental Research, Vol 28, Iss 6, Pp 642-645 (2017)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0970-9290
1998-3603
DOI: 10.4103/ijdr.IJDR_456_16
Popis: Background: The utilization of restorative dental care is very scarce in rural India. Association between level of education and health of a person has been well-documented in many countries and time periods with a range of potential factors shaping the connection between both. Objectives: This cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate an association between the level of education (educational qualification) and utilization of restorative dental care among rural women associated with self-help groups. Materials and Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was administrated to 660 rural women associated with self-help group by trained research assistants. The 604 completed questionnaires were received and reviewed. The education levels were divided into three groups: Group 1 - illiterates (17.2%), Group 2 - school educated (69.4%), and Group 3 - college educated (13.4%). Chi-square test was applied to evaluate the utilization of dental services by rural women, and logistic regression was applied to evaluate the influence of their educational qualifications on utilization. Results: A total of 604 properly filled questionnaires out of 660 (91.51% response rate) were included in the analysis. Only 56.9% of the sampled rural women indicated that they have visited dentists earlier. The maximum number of individuals who have never visited the dentist belonged to illiterate group (55.7%), and the association was statistically significant (0.004) when compared with educated individuals. Conclusion: The results of this study concluded that the level of education has a significant influence on the utilization of dental care.
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