Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Oral Health Care among Pharmacists in Kakinada City-Andhra Pradesh (Research Article)

Author(s): *Sri Chaitanya Ram Kadiyala, Narayana Rao Vinnakota, Naveen Kumar Boppana, Akhil Pallepati, Anvesh Gandham and Prasanth Tumarada

Abstract: BACKGROUND: It is common practice for many people to resort to pharmacists for advice regarding health problems. Most of the general population frequently approach and contact pharmacists for their health related issues. PURPOSE: To assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards oral health care among pharmacists in Kakinada city – Andhra Pradesh. METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional study was conducted on pharmacists in Kakinada city. List of registered pharmacists was provided by East Godavari pharmacists association and there are 512 registered pharmacists working in pharmacy outlets located in Kakinada region. Collection of data was done using a pre-validated questionnaire. A pilot study was conducted on 15 pharmacists. After excluding the pilot study participants, the final sample size is 497. Collection of data was done using a pre-validated questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, Student t – test and the ANOVA test followed by Post-hoc test were applied.P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Majority of pharmacists 61.94% were having good knowledge regarding oral health issues. While 7.9% were having poor knowledge regarding oral health issues. 95.5% were very confident while giving advice on tooth ache. CONCLUSION: Findings revealed that pharmacists have the knowledge and positive attitude to play an important role in oral care. This study suggests that pharmacists had advisory and referral roles in oral health and acknowledged that they could play a good role in oral health promotion.

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