Roles of Community Pharmacists in Improving Oral Health Awareness in Plateau State, Northern Nigeria

• Main Author: Taiwo, Olaniyi O.
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: ScholarWorks 2017
• Subjects: Awareness; community pharmacists; Knowledge; Nigeria; Oral health; Practice; Dentistry; Pharmacology
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3729; https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4832&context=dissertations

There is poor oral health awareness in Nigeria. This is mainly attributed to limited access to correct information on oral health as well as a lack of oral health care providers. The impact of the poor oral health awareness is worse in Northern Nigeria due to the uneven distribution of oral health care workers and training facilities. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the roles of community pharmacists (CPs) in Plateau State, Nigeria as sources of oral health information. Theoretical framework for this study was the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Background knowledge and practices of oral health care by CPs were assessed as related to their demographic characteristics. A 1 sample t-test was used to assess CPs' knowledge of oral health. A binary logistic regression model was conducted to evaluate if some demographic variables could predict Plateau State CPs' interest in becoming more involved in provision of services on oral health problems. According to the study findings, the CPs had a good disposition towards engaging in oral health prevention services by providing some oral health services to patients with oral health problems. In addition, 94.7% of the CPs were willing to advance the cause of oral health care. The disposition of CPs towards oral health could serve as a platform to help propagate oral health care and awareness in their communities. Engaging the CPs might help reduce oral health disparities by increasing oral health awareness, improving oral health-seeking behavior and oral hygiene practices, and improving quality of life via cost effective delivery of pharmacy-based oral health care services.