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Published on: December 31, 2017
Latent Profiles of Oral Health Self-Management and Associated Factors Among Adolescents Undergoing Fixed Orthodontic
Xiaoting Huang1,2, Jiawen Yu2, Yuane Yang2
1School of Nursing, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
To identify latent profiles of oral health self-management among adolescents undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment and examine the factors associated with profile membership.
Patients And Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 395 adolescents aged 12-18 years undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. Latent profile analysis was performed using the knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, and environment dimensions of oral health self-management as continuous observed indicators. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the associations of e-health literacy, family care, self-efficacy, dental anxiety, and age with profile membership.
Results:
Three latent profiles were identified: the behavior-environment vulnerable profile (C1, 20.00%), the moderate and stable profile (C2, 50.38%), and the high and balanced profile (C3, 29.62%). Compared with the behavior-environment vulnerable profile, higher family care was associated with greater odds of belonging to the moderate and stable profile, whereas older age was associated with lower odds of belonging to this profile. Higher e-health literacy, family care, and self-efficacy were associated with greater odds of belonging to the high and balanced profile. Higher dental anxiety and older age were associated with lower odds of belonging to this profile.
Conclusion:
Oral health self-management among adolescents undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment showed meaningful heterogeneity. The identified profiles and associated factors may help clinicians recognize differences in adolescents' self-management needs and inform the future development of profile-informed oral health education and follow-up support.
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