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DETERMINANTS OF ORAL HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN UGANDA
The main objective of the study was to assess the factors that are associated with the Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in Uganda. OHRQoL is a subjective assessment of an individual’s oral health and how it affects their well-being and functionality. A secondary analysis of data that was collected by the Uganda Ministry of Health during the 2014 Uganda Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Survey was carried out. The relationships between the variables were regressed using the Generalised Structural Equation Modelling (GSEM) approach. Results show women have worse OHRQoL than their male counterparts (Coefficient= -0.122, p=0.000), rural residents have worse OHRQoL (Coefficient=-0.13, p=0.000), O-level education have better OHRQoL than those with no education (Coefficient= p=0.125, p=0.013), respondents with good teeth have worse OHRQoL than those with excellent ones (Coefficient= -0.236, p=0.006), those who last visited the dentist more than 1 but less than 2 years have better OHRQoL than those who have visited the dentist in the last 6 months (Coefficient=0.357, p=0.000) and those having visited dentists due to pain or trouble with teeth or gums have poorer OHRQoL compared with those that visited for consultation (Coefficient= -0.581, p=0.000). As regards to the factors that significantly predict an individual’s good OHRQoL, higher income (Coefficient =0.01, p=0.011), urban residents (Coefficient =0.32, p=0.023), higher education (Coefficient =0.10, p=0.032) and more recent visits to the dentist (Coefficient =0.29, p=0.000) lead to respondents experiencing a better OHRQoL. There are also significant effects between sex and the OHRQoL through last dental visit (Coefficient= -0.19, p=0.003) as well as significant indirect effects of income on OHRQoL through the regularity of cleaning teeth (Coefficient= 0.00, p=0.072). Women take longer time between visits to the dentist and therefore experience a poorer OHRQoL as a result of this. In addition, people with higher income visit the dentist more regularly and therefore experience a better OHRQoL as a result of this medical attention. Older people, rural dwellers, those with lower levels of education and women have a worse off OHRQOL. Interventions such as mobile free oral health clinics are recommended in order to improve the oral health access of the populace. Further research should be carried out on interventions to reduce the gap in oral health access arising from income inequalities.
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