Perception of Academic Work Load and Oral Hygiene Practice of Undergraduates in Health-Related Courses in University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the academic stress and oral hygiene practices among students in health-related profession such as medicine and surgery, nursing, dentistry and pharmacy Study design: This study was a cross sectional survey done among students in health-related professions Place and duration of study: Faculties of Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Nursing in College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt between August and September, 2021. Methodology: Four hundred and twenty-two participants in health-related professions (dentistry, pharmacy, medicine and surgery and nursing) in the penultimate and final year who gave their consents were recruited for the study (266 females, 156 males; age range= 17-37 years). Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, perception of course stress and oral hygiene practices. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS (statistical package for the social sciences) version 25. Results: Sample size was 422 and response rate was 100%. P value was set at <0.05. About two-third of participants reported a high academic stress and said they spend between 9 and 15 hours daily on academic work (p=0.02).  Majority of the respondents cleaned their teeth with toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste. 56.4% of the participants brush twice daily, 49.3% change their toothbrush every 3 months and 18.7% change their toothbrush when it lost its efficiency. 84.8% of the respondents were aware of interdental Conclusion: The oral hygiene practice among the undergraduates was fair despite their high academic demands. There is however, still the need to motivate them for improved oral hygiene practice.