Investigating the Effect of Educational Intervention on Oral Health Literacy in Pregnant Women Referring to Comprehensive Health Centers in Arak, 2022

Authors

  • Maryam Barati Assistant Professor of Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
  • Majid Barati Associate Professor of Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
  • Saeed Bashirian Professor of Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
  • Salman Khazaei Associate Professor of Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
  • Ansiyeh Janabi Associate Professor of Department of Midwifery, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran
  • Leila Gholami Assistant Professor of Department of Periodontics, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
  • Samaneh Shir Ahmadi Assistant Professor of Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18502/tbj.v24i6.22572

Keywords:

Pregnancy, Oral health, Randomized controlled trial, Health promotion

Abstract

Introduction: Health literacy is a key determinant of health-related behaviors and outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of an educational intervention on oral health literacy of pregnant women referring to health centers in Arak city in 2022.

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial and was conducted among 105 pregnant women (54 in the intervention group and 51 in the control group) who referred to health centers in Arak city. The educational intervention was conducted virtually (from week 12 to 24) and through social networks. The data collection tool was questions related to demographic information and a standard questionnaire, Oral Health Literacy Adults Questionnaire (OHL-AQ), which was completed to measure oral health literacy in two groups before and three months after the end of the educational intervention. The data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 22 software.

Results:Three months after the educational intervention, there was a significant difference (P=0/022) in the level of oral health literacy between the intervention and control groups. 28% of the participants in the intervention group had adequate health literacy, which increased to 40% three months after the educational intervention. After the intervention, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the dimension of reading comprehension and decision-making.

Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, educational intervention regarding oral health literacy in pregnant women was effective on their oral health literacy levels.

Published

2026-09-08

Issue

Volume (24) issue (6)

Section

Articles