Correlates of Oral Health Integration into Primary Healthcare among Non-Oral Health Care Workers in Imenti North District, Kenya

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Integration of oral health into primary health care is key to improving equality in oral health care, especially in resource-constrained setups. The success is pegged on contextual strategies that empower the majority of non-oral healthcare workers in the primary healthcare system. To achieve this, there is a need to establish current integration practices and potential correlates. The objective of the study was to determine oral health care knowledge, attitude and services provision, and associated correlates among non-oral health care workers in Imenti North district, Kenya METHODS This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Imenti North district, Meru County, Kenya among 214 doctors, clinical officers and nurses. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data among the participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17. Chi-square was used to test for significance. RESULTS The majority (88%) of the respondents had adequate knowledge of oral health. Knowledge was statistically influenced by the level of training, having a dental clinic within the facility and oral health training. A positive attitude (>90%) was exhibited towards all oral health-related actions assessed. Oral health services provided by the participants included oral health education (65.4%), prescriptions (33.6%) and referrals (95.3%). Only 12% did oral screening for all their patients. Screening was significantly influenced by training in oral health and the availability of treatment and referral guidelines. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The majority of the doctors, nurses and clinical officers have adequate knowledge and positive attitudes towards oral health. Oral health services integration into their services is however poor. Efforts should be made to provide practical oral health training to doctors, nurses and clinical officers at both pre-clinical and in-service stages.