| Abstract |
Measuring oral health quality of life in situations of emergency dental care.
WHO defines Quality of Life as individuals’ perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, the psychological state, the level of independence, the social relationships, the personal beliefs and their relationship to salient features of their environment.
According to the literature review, oral diseases have the same psychosocial effect on our lives whilst they are not an instant threat to our lives and as severe as other diseases.
The term “Oral Health-related Quality of Life” (OHRQoL) is a multidimensional concept that captures oral symptoms and mouth function as well as patient’s perspective on the effects of dental diseases on his or her life quality. As a result OHRQoL is reliant on socioeconomical situation, the individual’s perspective on oral health and the present condition of his or her oral health.
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As a postgraduate student of the masters program “Public Health and Management of Health” I will try to shed some light on certain aspects concerning the OHRQoL. The aim of the present is to investigate which factors of oral health status can influence the quality of life.
The literature review reveals essential research on the effects of oral health on an individual’s quality of life, the emotional and psychosocial consequences of the oral diseases as well as the cost of those effects for the individual and the state.
Sheiham (2005) investigates the effect of oral health on general health and quality of life. He claims that every year millions of working hours are lost because of oral health problems. Furthermore, oral health affects general health by causing considerable pain and suffering and by changing what people eat, their speech and their quality of life and well-being.
Slade and Spencer (1994) introduced the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), a questionnaire, a scaled index of the social impact of oral disorders, which draws on a theoretical hierarchy of oral health outcomes. The OHIP offers a reliable and valid instrument for detailed measurement of the social impact of oral disorders.
A number of researches have used the OHIP as a research instrument. Stamadianos et al (2005), for example, showed that the OHIP offers as a reliable and valuable research tool and can be adapted in order to address the greek population.
Vlasiadis et al (2008) suggest that the problems related to oral health affect the quality of life by reducing the physical functions, social life and patient’s self esteem. They claim that the evaluation of OHRQoL must be made with simple and reliable methods that are amenable to
Δημόσια Υγεία & Διοίκηση Υπηρεσιών Υγείας Τμήμα Ιατρικής Πανεπιστημίου Κρήτης
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statistical analysis. The evidence concerning quality of life should be collected through a standardized procedure such as a national or an electronic hospital registry.
A more detailed view of the evaluation tools is needed in order to render them more usefully and effectively. This can be achieved through training and by selecting the most appropriate evaluation method for every individual case.
The aim of my study is to estimate the level of the QoL in relation to the oral health of patients who proceed to the Emergency Department of the University Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI).
The present research is going to focus on these questions:
• Do the patients think that their quality of life is affected by coming to the Emergency Department of the PAGNI Hospital?
• Which social and demographic factors affect the quality of life?
• To what extent the oral health condition and the problem the patient has take effect on his or her life?
• Is there any linking of the results with the DMFT index?
The research has taken place at the Department of Dentistry in the University Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI). The participants were patients who proceeded in the Hospital to the Emergency Department (TEP) looking for urgent dental care. After having been treated, the patients were informed about the aim of the research and were asked to give their informed consent in order to participate in the research. Face to face interviews were conducted in order to ensure that all the questions
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are answered and the patient understands all the questions. The questionnaire is anonymous. In the first page the patient is asked to provide some personal information such as the sex, the age, the educational status, the time and the oral health problem that led him or her to the Emergency Department. After that there was an examination and the dentist fills a specific form in order to set down all the details about the mouth condition, the former dental problems, teeth extractions etc. in order to estimate the DMFT index.
In the end, the patient filled the OHIP-14 questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of fourteen questions with the same validity according to Linkert scale. For the use of the OHIP questionnaire official consent was given by the researchers who introduced it, Slade, G.D and Spencer, J.A.
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Προσδιορισμός των αναγκών των συγγενών όσων νοσηλεύνται σε μονάδα εντατικής θεραπείας νοσοκομείου της περιφέρειας Κρήτης
