title: The relationship between caregiver functional oral health literacy and child oral health status.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the relationship between caregivers' oral health literacy (OHL) and the oral health status of their children in an Asian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random sample of 301 child/caregiver dyads was recruited from kindergartens in Hong Kong. Two locally-developed and validated OHL assessment tasks were administered to caregivers with Hong Kong Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-30 (HKREALD-30) assessing word recognition and Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Paediatric Dentistry (HKOHLAT-P) assessing comprehension. Their children's oral health status was assessed [dental caries experience - decayed, missing, filled teeth index - (dmft) and oral hygiene status - Visible Plaque Index (VPI)].
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregivers' literacy was associated with children's oral health status. The HKOHLAT-P had a stronger association with children's oral health than HKREALD-30. HKOHLAT-P and HKREALD-30 remained associated with dmft in the adjusted negative binomial regression models (accounting for socio-demographics), Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) 0.97, p=0.02, and 0.96, p=0.03, respectively. In the adjusted model, HKOHLAT-P was associated with VPI (IRR 0.90, p<0.05), but no association between HKREALD-30 and VPI was evident.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main conclusion of this study was that caregiver oral health literacy was associated with their child's oral health status. A comprehension instrument had a more robust association with children's oral status than a word recognition instrument.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has implications for general public health education for designing community-level interventions.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning/Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: sbridges@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bridges
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning/Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: divya@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Divya S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Parthasarathy
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: wonghmg@hkucc.hku.hk.
authors.forename: Hai Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: ckyyiu@hkucc.hku.hk.
authors.forename: Cynthia K Y
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Yiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: terryau@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Terry K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Au
authors.affiliation: Periodontology & Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: mcgrathc@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Colman P J
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: McGrath
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Caregiver; Child; Oral health literacy; Oral health status