Evaluación y promoción de la actitud hacia la higiene oral en pacientes de la Facultad de Odontología de la Univesidad Católica del Uruguay

Resumen

The present thesis investigates psychosocial factors in relation to OHB and OH-QoL. The research topics in question are mainly studied in a variety of field settings/contexts and among diverse populations. Chapter 2 addresses the development of an Oral hygiene behavior Index (OHB) and provides insight into the determinants of Oral Hygiene Behavior assessed with the TPB in a general Dutch sample. In order to enhance the generizability of these results - to assess whether the TPB is applicable among other populations/contexts and to assess whether the determinants differ for populations/contexts, chapter 3 presents results in a sample of recruits in the Dutch Army, chapter 4 is on a sample health care seekers in the Caribbean and Nepal, and chapter 5 (in an English and in a Spanish version) describes the findings in patients treated at the faculty of Odontology of the Catolic University in Uruguay. With regard to OH-QoL, two studies are presented. Chapter 6 (Studies 1 and 2) tests the OH-QoL in Dutch forensic psychiatric patients, using the short form of the Dutch linguistically validated version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14-NL). In order to enhance the generizability of these results and to assess whether the OHIP-14-NL is applicable among different groups, chapter 7 studies whether and how a set of potential causes and effects of OH-QoL are related to OH-QoL among first year students and dental patients. The case-report presented in chapter 8 demonstrates a short-term effect of a tailored oral hygiene self-care intervention, and chapter 9 presents an experimental intervention study. Finally, Chapter 10 provides a summary and integration of the main findings from the empirical chapters, and discusses the results in view of the implications for oral health promotion research and practice. In this thesis it may be noted that some overlap in the introduction and method sections between the chapters was unavoidable. (AU)