Improvement of knowledge, attitude, and behavior about oral health in a population of alcohol addicted persons.
OBJECTIVE
To improve knowledge, attitude, and behavior about oral health and oral cancer prevention in a population of alcohol-addicted persons involved in a residential rehabilitation program in Italy.


METHODS
A questionnaire was administered to obtain socioeconomic and oral risk factors data, and a complete dental examination was performed. A lecture on oral health risk factors and healthy behaviors was delivered. A pre-post test questionnaire was used to assess the short-term effectiveness of the intervention. Long-term effectiveness was assessed by a follow-up interview at 1 year from the intervention. The independent effect of several covariates on oral health at baseline and on the outcome of the intervention was evaluated.


RESULTS
Seventy-six individuals from the residential alcohol rehabilitation program participated in our study. About half had been addicted to alcohol for more than 10 years; 81.6% smoked at the time of survey; 31.0% declared that they never used toothbrushes or that they brushed less than once/day. We found an improvement of 25.0% in exact answers between the pre-post test questionnaire. At 1 year from the intervention, the 42 participants who reached follow up showed a great improvement in knowledge and attitude towards oral health. In particular, toothbrushing had become a daily routine after every meal for 67.1% of participants.


CONCLUSIONS
Education of alcohol-dependent individuals in a rehabilitation setting may contribute to their attention to oral health and willingness to change habits.
Barbadoro
Pamela
P
Infectious Diseases and Public Health Institute, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Tronto 10/A-60100 Ancona, Italy.
Lucrezi
Diletta
D
Prospero
Emilia
E
Annino
Isidoro
I
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D001519:Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health / Q000592:standards*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires