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Abstract
We determined factors associate with oral health literacy of pregnant women. A total of 203 pregnant women attending Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for antenatal care participated in this cross-sectional study. The Malay version of Oral Health Literacy Instrument (OHLI-M) and a structured self-administered questionnaire were used to obtain variables of interest. The mean OHLI-M score was 73.6 (SD 12.59). Only slightly more than half of our participants had adequate oral health literacy (54.2%), while others were marginal (31.0%) and inadequate (14.8%). Our findings revealed that women with adequate oral health literacy were more likely to be those with higher education qualification and were very satisfied or satisfied with their oral health status. The identification of these predictors highlighted the importance to keep oral health education messages simple and clear for the benefit of individuals with low educational attainment.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all staff at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Specialist Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia for their help and cooperation during the conduct of this study.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.
Funding
The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.