ASSESSMENT OF ORAL HYGIENE PRACTICE AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN JIGJIGA TOWN, SOMALI REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background:-Oral health is essential to general health, is a fundamental human right, and is one of the contemporary issues globally. However, poor oral hygiene among primary students is the major causes of public health problems in Africa including Ethiopia, contributed to dental caries and other periodontal diseases. Good practice of oral hygiene adopted as a preventive strategy against oral diseases to improve the well-being of children and families. In Somali region, there is limited awareness, poor access to quality water, sanitation, and health infrastructures which may lead to poor practice of oral hygiene. However, oral hygiene practice was low among students and little is known about the practice as well as factors contributing to it in Jigjiga. Objective:-To assess the prevalence of oral hygiene practice and its associated factors among primary school children in Jigjiga town, Somali region, Ethiopia, from October 15 to 25, 2025. Methodology:-A school based cross sectional study will be conducted in Jigjiga town among primary school children students. A total of 383children will be selected by systematic random sampling technique from randomly selected primary schools. Structured and pretested questionnaire will be used to collect information through face to face interview. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and cross tabulation will be displayed. Binary logistic regression will be used to measure the association between dependent and independent variables and significant variables at p-value <0.2 will be further tested using multivariate analysis to identify independent factors associated with the practice of oral hygiene. P-value <0.05 will be considered to show the level of significance. Odds ratio with 95% CI will be reported for each predictors. Expected Outcome: The finding is expected to improve the practice of oral hygiene among primary school children in Jigjiga town by creating awareness to children, families and building the schools capacity to introduce oral health education program Proposed budget: The study needs a total budget of 60,658.00 Ethiopian Birr and will be covered by self.