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The Relation Between Caregivers' Multiliterate Reading Habits and Their Children's Oral Health Status
Divya S Parthasarathy1, Susan M Bridges, Colman Pj McGrath
1The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (Hong Kong).
Interactive Journal of Medical Research
|September 20, 2014
Summary
Caregivers reading digital and print Chinese texts showed higher oral health literacy. However, these reading habits did not impact their children's oral health status in Hong Kong.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Literacy
- Child Oral Health
Background:
- Caregivers' oral health literacy (OHL) is linked to children's oral health outcomes.
- Caregivers' reading habits may influence this relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between caregivers' multimodal (digital/print) and multilingual (English/Chinese) reading habits, their OHL, and their child's oral health.
- To describe these relationships within the Hong Kong context.
Main Methods:
- 301 child-caregiver dyads from Hong Kong kindergartens were surveyed.
- Data included sociodemographics, reading habits (multimodal, multilingual), OHL (HKREALD-30, HKOHLAT-P), and child's oral health (caries, plaque index).
Main Results:
- Significant differences in OHL scores were observed based on caregivers' reading habits.
- Reading multimodal and multilingual texts correlated with higher literacy levels and better child oral health.
- Digital Chinese reading habits were significantly associated with OHL word recognition and comprehension scores.
Conclusions:
- Caregivers' reading habits, particularly for digital and print Chinese texts, are significantly associated with their oral health literacy.
- Despite this association, caregivers' reading habits did not demonstrate a significant impact on their children's oral health status.
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