Parents’ knowledge about the oral health care of oncological children

identifying the parents/guardians’ knowledge about the oral health condition of oncological children assisted at the Pediatric Oncology Department of the Institute of Integral Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study comprising a sample of 163 parents/guardians of children assisted at the Pediatric Oncology Department of the IIMP in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, applying a semi-structured form, tested with 10% of the sample in a pilot study.

Results:

Most of the parents/guardians were female subjects (87%) and patients’ mothers (81%), between 25 and 34 years of age (44.8%), with a family income of a minimum wage (47%), educational level until elementary school (51.6%) and from the countryside of the state of Pernambuco (56%). Most of the children were male subjects (58.9%) with average age of 7.57 years, who had attended or stopped primary school (54.6%) and had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (57.7%) and treated with chemotherapy (92.6%). All parents considered important to have dental surgeons in the oncology department assisting the children in their oral hygiene. More than half of these parents reported knowing about how to avoid caries (63%) and, almost half of the children had never had a consultation with a dentist before (41.1%).

Conclusion:

Parents/guardians have information about oral health care, but they do not put it into practice.

Indexing terms
Child health; Health care; Oral health

	Bracket age
Variable	18 to 24		25 to 34		35 or over		Total Group		P value
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Total	26	100	73	100	64	100	163	100
Have you ever participated in any educational activity related to oral health?									p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.035^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Yes	5	19.2	32	43.8	18	28.1	55	33.7
No	21	80.8	41	56.2	46	71.9	108	66.3
How often does the child perform oral hygiene?									p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.7310
Once	1	3.8	6	8.2	2	3.1	9	05.5
Twice	6	23.1	12	16.4	13	20.3	31	19
Three times	16	61.5	41	56.2	41	64.1	98	60.1
Four times or more	3	11.5	14	19.2	8	12.5	25	15.3
Who performs the oral hygiene of the child?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. < 0.001^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Child	5	19.2	27	37	42	65.6	74	45.4
Other (Parents/Guardians/Nurse)	21	80.8	46	63	22	34.4	89	54.6
When did the child go to the dentist for the last time?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. = 0.001^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
The child has never been to the dentist	19	73.1	31	42.5	17	26.6	67	41.1
Less than 6 months	3	11.5	23	31.5	26	40.6	52	31.9
Less than 1 year	1	3.8	13	17.8	7	10.9	21	12.9
1 year or more	3	11.5	6	8.2	14	21.9	23	14.1
Where was the dental treatment performed?									p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.013^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
The child has never been to the dentist.	19	73.1	31	42.5	17	26.6	67	41.1
IIMP	3	11.5	19	26	19	29.7	41	25.2
Private	3	11.5	7	9.6	14	21.9	24	14.7
Public	1	03.8	10	13.7	9	14.1	20	12.3
Other	-	-	6	8.2	5	07.8	11	6.7
What is the reason for the consultation?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. = 0.002^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
The child has never been to the dentist.	19	73.1	31	42.5	17	26.6	67	41.1
Prevention	1	03.8	11	15.1	14	21.9	26	16
Treatment/Urgency	6	23.1	31	42.5	33	51.6	70	42.9

Educational Level
Variable	Elementary		Middle		Secondary		Total Group			P value
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Total	65	100	76	100	22	100	163	100
When did the child go to the dentist for the last time?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.894^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
The child has never been to the dentist	30	46.2	30	39.5	7	31.8	67	41.1
Less than 6 months	19	29.2	25	32.9	8	36.4	52	31.9
Less than 1 year	9	13.8	9	11.8	3	13.6	21	12.9
1 year or more	7	10.8	12	15.8	4	18.2	23	14.1
Where was the dental treatment performed?									p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. = 0.375^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
The child has never been to the dentist	30	46.2	30	39.5	7	31.8	67	41.1
IIMP	18	27.7	18	23.7	5	22.7	41	25.2
Private	8	12.3	10	13.2	6	27.3	24	14.7
Public	7	10.8	12	15.8	1	4.5	20	12.3
Other	2	3.1	6	7.9	3	13.6	11	6.7
What is the reason for the consultation?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.001^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
The child has never been to the dentist	30	46.2	30	39.5	7	31.8	67	41.1
Prevention	5	7.7	11	14.5	10	45.5	26	16
Treatment/Urgency	30	46.2	35	46.1	5	22.7	70	42.9
Do you have information on how to avoid caries?
Yes	26	40	54	71.1	21	95.5	101	62	p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. < 0.001^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
No	39	60	22	28.9	1	4.5	62	38
Have you received oral health information from the department’s dental surgeon?									p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. = 0.425^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Yes	28	43.1	35	46.1	13	59.1	76	46.6
No	37	56.9	41	53.9	9	40.9	87	53.4
Do you believe that oral health can interfere with the health and treatment of the child?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.077^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Yes	43	66.2	60	78.9	19	86.4	122	74.8
No	15	23.1	15	19.7	3	13.6	33	20.2
I don’t know	7	10.8	1	1.3	-	-	8	4.9
Do you believe that eating habits can interfere with your child’s oral health?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.034^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Yes	45	69.2	65	85.5	21	95.5	131	80.4
No	18	27.7	9	11.8	1	4.5	28	17.2
I don’t know	2	3.1	2	2.6	-	-	4	2.5
Do you consider that oral habits are harmful to your child’s health?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.456
The chield does not have habits	40	61.5	38	50	13	59.1	91	55.8
Yes	19	29.2	27	35.5	9	40.9	55	33.7
No	5	7.7	6	7.9	-	-	11	6.7
I don’t know	1	1.5	5	6.6	-	-	6	3.7

Variable	Educational Level
	Elementary		Middle		Secondary		Total Group		P value
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Total	65	100	76	100	22	100	163	100
How do you rate your oral health?									p⁽¹⁾ (1) Through Pearson’s Chi-square test. = 0.003^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Poor/Bad	7	10.8	9	11.8	2	9.1	18	11
Regular	23	35.4	50	65.8	11	50	84	51.5
Good/Excellent	35	53.8	17	22.4	9	40.9	61	37.4
How do you rate the child’s oral health?									p⁽²⁾ (2) Through Fisher’s exact test. = 0.013^* *()** Significant difference at the level of 5.0%.
Poor/Bad	3	4.6	2	02.6	-	-	5	03.1
Regular	15	23.1	31	40.8	2	9.1	48	29.4
Good/Excellent	47	72.3	43	56.6	20	90.9	110	67.5

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[1] Correspondência para / Correspondence to: BRV PEDROSA. E-mail: <brunarvpedrosa@gmail.com>.