Application of the Integrated Behavioral Model to oral self‐care behavior of community‐dwelling middle‐aged and older people in Taiwan

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the Integrated Behavioral Model and examined oral self-care behavior of community-dwelling middle-aged and older people. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Sample: Purposive sampling was employed to recruit middle and older age community-dwelling individuals, with research locations in public health centers in northern Taiwan. Measurements: Structured questionnaires comprised: participant demographics, oral health literacy, oral self-care attitude, self-efficacy, intention, and behavior, and significant others' perceptions and beliefs as well as environmental constraints. The Model verification was evaluated by path analysis. Results: Two hundred and sixty-three participants (N = 263) completed the questionnaire survey. Results identified significant direct effects of the independent variables of oral health care literacy, intention of oral self-care, and perception of environmental constraints on the dependent variable of oral self-care behavior; and significant indirect effects on attitude of oral self-care, perception of significant other beliefs, self-efficacy of oral self-care. Conclusion: Public health nurses work with the whole community and can potentially improve the oral self-care behavior of middle-aged and older adults by enhancing their oral health knowledge, maintaining their positive attitudes, assisting acceptance of recognition and support from others, increasing their ability to perform oral selfcare, reducing environmental constraints, and thereby enhancing their oral self-care awareness. K E Y W O R D S health behavior, health literacy, health promotion, oral health | 727 HO et al.

The Moderating Role of Self-Rated Oral Health on the Association Between Oral Health Status and Subjective Well-Being: Findings From Chinese Older Adults in Hawaiʻi and Taiwan

“…We speculate at least several reasons that might account for the disparities reported by our Taichung sample: First, medical resources were insufficient for the current Taiwanese older adults during their childhood and youth compared with the younger cohorts in Taiwan. Second, due to insufficient oral health literacy (Ho et al, 2019; Hsu et al, 2013), most of the older adults in Taiwan often reported poor oral hygiene perceptions and behaviors (Hsu et al, 2013; Lin et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2013). As a result, they tended to suffer from serious oral health problems and had poor self-rated oral health.…”

Validation and evaluation of the Mandarin version of the oral health literacy adult questionnaire in Taiwan

“…In public health policies, a growing body of evidence indicated that the oral health literacy is the key to understand people’ awareness as well as the determinants of oral health (Atchison et al, ; Ho, Chang, et al, ; Sistani et al, ; Vyas et al, ). The results of this study should lead to an extensive survey of OHL in the Mandarin population, which will allow us to study OHL predictors in future research.…”

“…Older age, lower educational level, lower economic status, unemployment, and wearing of removable dentures are other risk factors for inadequate OHL (Ho, Liu, et al, ; Naghibi Sistani, Montazeri, Yazdani, & Murtomaa, ; Vyas, Nagarajappa, Dasar, & Mishra, ). Culturally specific determinants of oral health behaviors among people in Taiwan include OHL, oral self‐care attitude, self‐efficacy, and intention, and significant others’ perceptions and beliefs as well as environmental constraints (Ho, Chang, et al, ).…”

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Chinese version of self-efficacy and attitudes for providing Mouth Care scale

“…In a previous study, researchers admitted that caregivers in communities consistently played an important role by enhancing oral health knowledge, maintaining positive attitudes, increasing older persons' ability to perform oral self-care, and enhancing oral self-care awareness [28]. Currently, there are assessment scales focusing on older persons' or periodontal patients' oral health status in China, usually using oral health self-efficacy as a sensitive indicator [29,30].…”