UNAIR NEWS – Caries is one of the causes of tooth decay. This disease attacks many children, especially those who are still in preschool age (4-6 years). In the 2017 survey, one of the areas with a high prevalence of preschool age caries sufferers was Surabaya, which was 67.5%.
The high number has made some researchers and supported by students from Faculty of Dental Medicine (FKG) of Universitas Airlangga interested in finding out the factors that affect children’s dental health. In their research mentioned that preschoolers have not been able to manage information critically.
Therefore, children tend to imitate the behavior of people in the surrounding environment, like parents who are considered to attract attention. This momentum must be utilized by parents and health practitioners as a stage to encourage children to have the habit of maintaining oral health.
“A person’s behaviour is based on three aspects, namely education, attitudes, and actions. Of the three things, education becomes the most important aspect because it is the basis for forming behaviour. The lack of knowledge of parents, especially mothers as those closest to them, will influence children’s actions in maintaining health, “said drg. Taufan.
In an era where knowledge access is increasingly wide open, primarily through online, people should be able to search for dental health information easily. However, the results of a 2017 survey in Surabaya showed that the percentage of mothers of preschool children who had knowledge about dental health was only 49.1%.
“We are trying to find out the cause of the low percentage of mothers of preschool children who know dental health information through research in the working area of Mojo Community Health Center. Site selection is based on a 2017 study that showed a high prevalence of dental caries in preschoolers there, which is 85.1%, “said drg. Taufan.
After conducting research found a sample of 253 respondents. It is known that 86.6% of them already have good intentions to access dental and oral health information. However, this result is inversely related to the high prevalence of dental caries (84.7%). It was examined using Theory of Reasoned Action.
“This indicates that the respondent mothers do not yet have a mature plan to develop the habit of maintaining oral health in children. Based on this study also found results regarding factors that influence mothers in accessing information, namely intentions, beliefs, attitudes, norms, and perceptions, “explained drg. Taufan.
Hopefully, this research could become a reference for related parties to improve the dental and oral health of children in the working area of Mojo Health Center, Surabaya. Many things can be pursued, such as socialization, counseling, as well as the provision of health education media that are easily accessed by the public. (*)
Author: Nabila Amelia
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:ijphrd&volume=10&issue=8&article=372
Bramantoro Taufan, Palupi Retno, Juzika Olinne, Ramadhani Aulia, Romadhoni Sarah Fitria. 2019. Behavior of Mothers of Children Aged 4–6 Years in Accessing Dental and Mouth Health Information. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development Volume : 10, Issue : 8.
