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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1500586

Knowledge, attitudes and practices among patients with periodontal disease toward disease management

Provisionally accepted
Siyu Zhao Siyu Zhao 1Yanyun Wu Yanyun Wu 2*
  • 1 Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Institute of Stomatology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
  • 2 Department of Stomatology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Periodontal disease is a common chronic inflammatory condition that affects oral health and carries broader public health implications. This study aimed to assess the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among patients with periodontal disease toward disease management. Methods: This cross-sectional web-based study was conducted between March 2022 and March 2023. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to evaluate KAP toward disease management. Results: A total of 514 questionnaires were collected. Among the patients, 313 (60.89%) of them were female, 309 (60.12%) resided in urban areas and 130 (25.29%) reported having severe periodontal disease. The mean scores of knowledge, attitudes and practices were 3.05±2.03 (possible range: 0-8), 18.71±3.64 (possible range: 6-30), and 14.85±3.63 (possible range: 5-25), respectively. The knowledge item with highest correctness rate was the link between periodontal disease and systemic health (60.70%), while the lowest correctness rate was seen for understanding disease classification (36.96%). Pearson’s analysis revealed positive correlations between knowledge and attitude (r=0.31, P<0.001), knowledge and practices (r=0.23, P<0.001) attitudes, as well as attitudes and practices (r = 0.17, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that knowledge (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.14-1.49, P<0.001), age ≥33 years old (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.62, P = 0.001), housewife/househusband (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.17-0.95, P = 0.037) and student (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.20-0.92, P = 0.029) were independently associated with practices. Conclusion: Patients with periodontal disease had insufficient knowledge, negative attitudes, and passive practices towards disease management. Further efforts could be directed toward enhancing patient education on periodontal disease to improve knowledge, thereby positively influencing attitudes and disease management practices.

    Keywords: knowledge, attitudes, Practices, Cross-sectional study, Oral Health, Periodontal disease

    Received: 23 Sep 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yanyun Wu, Department of Stomatology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.