Oral health literacy and oral health related quality of life in juvenile delinquent in Thailand 2023

Abstract

This research is a cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between oral health literacy (The test of Functional Oral Health Literacy for Primary School Children; P-TOFHLiD) and Child-Oral Impact on Daily Performances (Child-OIDP) among juvenile delinquent in Thailand 2023. A purposive sample of 400 participants was selected from four regions of Thailand: Chiang Mai, Nakhon Sawan, Ubon Ratchathani, and Surat Thani provinces in the Juvenile Observation and Protection Centre and the Juvenile Vocational Centre. Data was collected between February 23 and March 1, 2024, with P-TOFHLiD and Child-OIDP. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Poisson regression analysis. The data of 400 participants (mean age, 16.8 ± 1.5 years.; 375 male, 25 female) were analyzed. The average oral health literacy score was 20.4 ± 3.6 points. The lowest score was 3.8 ± 1.4 points in the 4th component: Food that causes tooth decay. The proportion of participants with an impact on quality of life was 89.5%. Eating was reported as the highest oral impact score for 55.5% The results of the quality of life in the dimensions of oral health of participants are affected more by the physical dimension than the psychological or social aspect. From the study, it was found that participants with insufficient health literacy, who are perceived to have overall problems and want to be treated, had a statistically significant impact on physical aspects when compared to those who have sufficient literacy (adjusted PRs = 1.19; 95%CI = 1.07–1.33; 2.34; 95%CI = 2.25–2.44; and 2.24; 95%CI = 1.74–2.90, respectively.) This study attempted to develop recommendations for improving juvenile delinquents’ oral health by promoting oral health literacy and providing increased access to utilization.