MEDICAL NURSES KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD ORAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN ERBIL CITY/ IRAQ

Vian Mohammed Hussein; Ruheyza Shwan Shahswar

doi:10.46903/gjms/22.03.1667

MEDICAL NURSES KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD ORAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN ERBIL CITY/ IRAQ

Vian Mohammed Hussein, Ruheyza Shwan Shahswar

Abstract

Background: Nurses are responsible to help provide key Oral Health (OH) tips to antenatal mothers. This study aims to investigate the knowledge and attitude of nurses in concerning OH in antenatal mothers.

Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 495 nurses in antenatal health care at Maternity hospital of Erbil city/ Iraq from June to December 2023 used self-administered questionnaires. Sampling was done by purposive sampling method. Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire assessing nurses’ knowledge through 23 items and attitudes through 6 items on a Likert scale. Also, there was a question about the source of information of the nurses related to pregnant women OH care.

Results: The mean knowledge score was 34.836±3.632, and the mean attitude score was 15.036±2.551. Nurses under 35 years old had significantly higher knowledge (35.761±4.370) and attitude scores (15.619±2.505) compared to those over 35 years old (34.414±3.159 and 14.770±2.531, respectively, P≤0.001). Most nurses were aware of the causes and symptoms of gum disease, but there were gaps in knowledge regarding the effects of pregnancy on gum health. Most nurses 477 (96.4%) expressed a need for training in OH screening.

Conclusion: The study revealed inadequate knowledge among nurses regarding the OH of pregnant women, despite their positive attitude towards providing OH care. The knowledge and attitude of nurses was positive and significantly correlated with age, education, work experience and ward.

Keywords

Knowledge; Attitude; Pregnancy; Oral health; Nurses; Periodontal disease.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46903/gjms/22.03.1667