Impact of oral health perception on the quality of life of hospital staff

TL;DR

Hospital staff's perception of oral health affects their quality of life, suggesting the need for better workplace health strategies.

Contribution

This study identifies a significant link between oral health perception and quality of life in hospital staff using validated questionnaires.

Findings

Quality of life and oral health perception are significantly correlated (Rho=0.391, p<0.05).

Physical and social limitations most influence oral health perception.

Low oral health perception was most common (52.8%), while excellent quality of life was most prevalent (38.9%).

Abstract

The perception of oral health that hospital staff may have has repercussions on the general quality of life that they lead and the corresponding work performance. This work attempts to show how these two dimensions of the human being go hand in hand, which would provide the necessary knowledge to draw up strategies that can alleviate the aforementioned profile, and at the same time would help to build a work context that could well have a healthier horizon.

To determine the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and oral health perception (OHP) in the staff of level II-1 hospital, located in the northern zone of Peru.

The study had a quantitative approach, a cross-sectional design, an applied type and a correlational-causal scope. The participation consisted of 72 participants. Reference was made to the validated questionnaires OHIP-14 and HU-DBI, which allow measuring the quality of life and the perception of oral health, and obtained reliability coefficients of 0.847 and 0.804, respectively. Data processing was carried out by applying the Spearman correlation coefficient and ordinal logistic regression.

The analyses showed a significant association between quality of life and oral health perception (Rho=0.391, p<0.05), with an impact of 19.8% according to Nagelkerke’s pseudo R square. The dimensions of quality of life that most significantly influenced oral health perception were physical limitation (Rho=0.319, p<0.05) and social limitation (Rho=0.242, p<0.05). Regarding the general results, the excellent level of quality of life was the most prevalent (38.9%), while the low level of oral health perception was the most frequent, with 52.8%.

The link between quality of life and the perception of oral health in hospital staff emphasizes the need to implement comprehensive strategies that optimize their well-being and work performance, contributing significantly to improving hospital services.