| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2016 | Volume
: 6
| Issue : 2 | Page : 134-141 |
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Oral health knowledge, attitude, and self-care practices among pharmacists in Riyadh, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Abdul Baseer1, Mohammed Aleemullah Mehkari2, Fahad AbdulMohsen Fahad Al-Marek3, Omar Ahmad Bajahzar4
1 Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Olaya Campus, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of General Dentistry, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3 Department of Dental Public Health, Olaya Campus, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of Advanced General Dentistry, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Mohammad Abdul Baseer
Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Namuthajiya Campus, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, PO Box - 84891, Riyadh - 11681, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2231-0762.178739
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Aim: Identifying and addressing gaps in the oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices of pharmacists is important before they can be considered as a member of the oral health promotion team. The aim of this study was to determine the prevailing oral health knowledge, attitude, and self-care practices among a sample of pharmacists from Riyadh, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 200 pharmacists working in community- and hospital-based pharmacies was conducted using a structured, self-administered, close-ended questionnaire. The responses were collected and descriptive statistics of the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and self-care practices were calculated. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were performed to compare the different groups. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the association among knowledge–attitude, knowledge–practice, and attitude–practice. Results: Overall, the mean scores of oral health knowledge, attitude, and self-care practices were found to be 5.27 ± 1.05, 3.89 ± 0.83, and 2.1 ± 0.61, respectively. Male non-Saudi pharmacists working in chain pharmacies, having 11–15 years of experience with a Master's degree qualification showed significantly higher mean knowledge and practices scores as compared to their counterparts. Spearman's correlation tests revealed a significant positive correlation of knowledge–practice (r = 0.262, P < 0.01), whereas knowledge–attitude (r = -0.149, P < 0.05) as well as attitudes–practices (r = -0.196, P < 0.01) were negatively correlated.
Conclusion: Pharmacists exhibited an average knowledge, negative attitude, and inadequate self-care practices toward oral health. However, increasing oral health knowledge can have profound improvement in oral self-care practices.
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