| Abstract [eng] |
Relevance of the problem and aim of the work. The aging Lithuanian population is facing multiple systemic diseases and deteriorating oral health care. In order to prevent oral diseases and manage systemic diseases, specific oral health care educational programs for seniors are needed. Online learning can be a more accessible form of education for seniors with physical limitations, financial difficulties or declining cognitive functions. The aim of this study is to determine whether online learning effectively improves the oral health care knowledge of Lithuanian seniors. Material and methods. Lithuanian seniors aged 65 and older were invited to participate voluntarily in the study through announcements on websites of organizations representing this group and in senior communities on Facebook. Those who consented completed a 32-question survey assessing their baseline knowledge of oral health care. Participants received links via email to educational articles from www.virtualusodontologas.lt every two weeks for two months. After the training, their knowledge was reassessed using the same survey, and participants received gift vouchers. Each correct survey answer was scored at 1 point (maximum 32 points). Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0.1 and Microsoft Excel 2016, with results deemed significant at p≤0.05. Results. A total of 117 seniors completed both questionnaires in the study. The average pre-training score was 11.21(±5.19), ranging from 0 to 24 points. Seniors younger than 75 years (p<0.001), with higher education (p=0.014) and those earning above €990 per month (p=0,032) achieved higher scores. Post – intervention, the average score rose by 5.82 points to 17.03 (±6.34) (p<0.001), with scores ranging from 4 to 30 points. The proportion of participants scoring above 20 points increased from 2.6% (N=3) to 33.3% (N=39) (p<0.001). Greater score improvements were observed among seniors with higher incomes (€2000 per month) (p=0.001) and those who read all educational articles (p=0.041). The most significant improvements in correct answers were related to the use of fluoride toothpaste (30.7%, p<0.001) and its recommended fluoride concentration (35.9%, p<0.001). Post-intervention, significantly more seniors reported using interdental brushes (p=0.044) and brushing their teeth twice daily (p=0.033). Conclusions. Seniors have insufficient oral health knowledge. Oral health knowledge is influenced by seniors‘ education, income and age. Online learning effectively enhances seniors‘ oral health knowledge and motivates changes in oral hygiene habits. Greater knowledge gains were observed among seniors with higher education and those who engaged fully with the educational materials. Keywords. Remote training, seniors, oral health knowledge, oral health behaviors. |
