Abstract
Data sources
Eight electronic databases were searched: Medline (through PubMed), ISI Web of Science, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Lilacs and the Brazilian Library of Dentistry, Controlled-trials database of Clinical Trials and Clinical Trials-US National Institute of Health. A grey literature search was also conducted and reference lists of included studies were interrogated.
Study selection
Inclusion criteria were studies which examined the relationship between oral health literacy and one of the pre-defined outcomes including oral health behaviours, perception, knowledge and dental treatment outcomes. Epidemiological studies (such a case-control, cohort, cross-sectional and clinical trials) were included but qualitative studies, systematic reviews and those which examined unrelated outcomes were excluded.
Data extraction and synthesis
Two independent reviewers carried out screening, risk of bias assessment and data extraction for all studies against pre-agreed inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (a modified version for cross-sectional studies) and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool were used for quality appraisal. A narrative synthesis was presented, with meta-analysis of a small sub-group of studies relating to one outcome.
Results
Twenty-five studies were included in the final review; 21 cross-sectional, two cohort, one case-control and one clinical trial. Most (17) were considered to be at high risk of bias and there was a high degree of clinical and methodological heterogeneity. No evidence was found of a significant association between oral health literacy and the outcomes considered.
Conclusions
The authors concluded that the current scientific evidence suggests that no association exists between oral health literacy and any of the outcomes investigated. Further prospective studies with high methodological quality are needed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
References
Scottish Government. Making it easy. A Health Literacy Action Plan for Scotland. 2014. Available at https://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00451263.pdf (accessed August 2018)
Scottish Government. Making it easier. A Health Literacy Action Plan for Scotland 2017-2025. 2017. Available at https://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00528139.pdf (accessed August 2018)
US Institute of Medicine, Committee on Health Literacy. Nielsen-Bohlman L, Panzer AM, Kindig DA (eds). Health literacy: a prescription to end confusion. Washington DC: US Institute of Medicine; 2004
Berkman ND, Sheridan SL, Donahue KE, Halpern DJ, Crotty K . Low health literacy and health outcomes: an updated systematic review. Ann Intern Med 2011; 155: 97–107. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005
Easton P, Entwistle VA, Williams B . How the stigma of low literacy can impair patient-professional spoken interactions and affect health: insights from a qualitative investigation. BMC Health Serv Res 2013; 13: 319 doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-319
American Dental Association. Health literacy in dentistry. Public Programs 2018. Available at https://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/health-literacy-in-dentistry (accessed August 2018)
Sørensen K, Van den Broucke S . Fullam J et al. (HLS-EU) Consortium Health Literacy Project European. Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models. BMC Public Health 2012; 12: 80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Address for correspondence: Ramon Targino Firmino, Av Presidente Antonio Carlos, 6627- Pampulha, Belo Horizonte- MG 31270-901, Brazil. E-mail: ramontargino@gmail.com
Firmino RT, Martins CC, Faria LDS et al. Association of oral health literacy with oral health behaviours, perception, knowledge and dental treatment related outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Public Health Dent 2018; Mar 2. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12266. [Epub ahead of print]
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burns, J., McGoldrick, N. & Muir, M. Oral health literacy, oral health behaviours and dental outcomes. Evid Based Dent 19, 69–70 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6401318
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6401318
