Social inequalities in oral cancer literacy in an adult population in a multicultural deprived area of the UK.

BACKGROUND: To report the level and correlates of oral cancer literacy in a deprived area of the UK. METHODS: This study is part of the East London Oral Health Inequality Study, which included a representative sample of adults 16-65 (n = 2343) years old living in Waltham Forest, Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham in 2009-10. This cross-sectional study adopted a multi-stage, stratified, random sampling approach. Data were collected through home visits by trained examiners and interviewers. Hierarchical logistic regression modelling was adopted. RESULTS: Only 26.7% participants were aware that a small lesion in the mouth can develop into oral cancer, and 39.5% were aware that early treatment could prevent a lesion from developing into oral cancer. Adjusted odds ratios confirmed the social gradient in awareness that a small lesion in the mouth can develop into oral cancer, even after adjusting for age, gender and ethnicity. Inequalities in awareness that a small lesion in the mouth can develop into oral cancer were significantly attenuated after forcing education level into the equation. Interestingly, adjusting for education cancelled the difference previously observed between manual/routine and professional/managerial occupations. CONCLUSIONS: Oral cancer literacy is poor among adults in Outer North East London, and we have identified particularly vulnerable sub-populations.

Family structure, socioeconomic position and utilization of oral health services among Nigerian senior secondary school pupils.

OBJECTIVE: To test the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP), family composition, number of siblings, and birth position in the family, and the utilization of oral health services by senior secondary school pupils in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design included senior secondary school pupils in the Central Local Government Area of Ile-Ife during 2007/2008. Sample size calculation was performed and 1,200 pupils were invited to participate. A multistage, stratified sampling technique was used. Data collection included a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. RESULTS: The response rate was 76 percent (n=1043). The mean age was 15.8 (standard deviation=1.9) and 49 percent were males. Only 22.5 percent of pupils had ever visited a dentist in their lives. Results from multivariate analyses showed that pupils attending free schools, those paying 1 to 10,000 naira (equivalent to US$ 63.31) and 10,000 to 19,000 naira (equivalent to US$ 120.29) were respectively 1.93, 1.87, and 2.74 times less likely to have attended a dentist in the past than pupils in more expensive schools. Pupils living with single mothers or without a parent were unlikely to have visited the dentist. Number of siblings and birth position in the family were not associated with utilization of oral health services. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents from families with a low SEP growing up without their parents may need extra incentives to visit dentist.