%0 Journal Article
%T Knowledge, attitude and practices towards oral health among secondary school students in Huye district, Rwanda.
%A Bayingana JM
%A Shyaka G
%A Ogendi J
%J Afr Health Sci
%V 24
%N 1
%D 2024 Mar
%M 38962326
%F 1.108
%R 10.4314/ahs.v24i1.30
%X <B>UNASSIGNED: </B>Good oral health knowledge is considered to be crucial for health-related practices and better oral hygiene.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>This study was aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices towards oral health among secondary student in Huye district.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 386 students from public secondary schools with advanced level. Boarding secondary schools were excluded. Stratified Clustering sampling technique was used for selecting study participants. A closed ended questionnaire was used for collecting data. Results were found on the basis of percentage and frequency using SPSS 21.0 version.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>The majority of participants, 222 (57.5%) were female and 164 (42.5%) were male. The majority of the participants, 168 (43.5%) were between 15-17 years old. Out of the total population of students 1.8% had good knowledge, 56.2% had average knowledge and 42% had poor knowledge about oral health. Moreover, 56.2% had negative and 43.8% had positive oral health attitudes and overall practice towards oral hygiene of students showed that 74.6 % had poor practice and 24.4% had good practices.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>Oral hygiene has to be long life practice and oral health education have to be included as part of the school environment.