Introduction: With population aging, healthy aging is critical. Few studies have examined how oral health literacy, self-care, and grit relate in middle-aged and older adults, despite grit's potential role in sustaining self-care behaviors and promoting oral health.
Purpose: This study was to examine the associations among oral health literacy, self-care, and grit in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults.
Method: A cross-sectional design was employed, and 49 participants were recruited online from the community. The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board of the participating hospital. All participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the short version of the Chinese Sarcopenia Functional Questionnaire, the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10), the short-form Health Literacy Dental Scale (HeLD-14), the Oral Self-Care Behaviors Scale, and the Grit-10 Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.
Results: A total of 49 participants were included in this study, comprising 18 men and 31 women, aged 41 to 82 years, with a mean age of 62 years. Most participants had an education level of high school or below (63.3%), followed by college (24.5%). The majority were married (81.6%), with 10.2% unmarried and 8.2% widowed. The most common chronic conditions were hypertension (30.6%), diabetes (14.3%), and hyperlipidemia (12.2%). Most participants reported no smoking (95.9%), no alcohol consumption (95.9%), and no betel nut chewing (100%). Grit was not significantly associated with age, gender, education level, or marital status. However, the Oral Self-Care Behaviors Scale was positively correlated with grit, suggesting that individuals with higher grit tended to engage in better oral self-care behaviors.
Conclusions: This study found that grit was not significantly associated with age, gender, education level, or marital status, but was positively correlated with oral self-care behaviors, indicating that middle-aged and older adults with higher grit demonstrated better oral self-care practices.