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Background: Oral health is an essential component of a person's general health and well-being. It is influenced by many factors. These include individual aspects such as oral health literacy and oral health behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between oral health literacy and behaviour with physical oral health., Methods: In this population-based cross-sectional study, data of 5510 subjects enrolled in the Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS) from 2016 to 2018 with a mean age of 62.1 years and 50.7% women were evaluated. Physical oral health was assessed using the 14-item Physical Oral Health Index (PhOX). A newly developed 10-item questionnaire based on the Oral Health Literacy Adult Questionnaire and the 5th German Oral Health Study were used to determine oral health literacy and behaviour., Results: The sum score of the 10 questions related to oral health literacy and behaviour significantly correlated with the PhOX sum score (r = 0.23; p < 0.001). An increase of one point in the total score of oral health literacy and behaviour was associated with an increase in the PhOX sum score of 1.45 points on average. This association decreased only marginally after integrating potential confounders such as age and education., Conclusion: Higher oral health literacy and better oral health behaviour are associated with better physical oral health. Oral health literacy and behaviour should be important targets in dental education to efficiently and sustainably improve the oral health of the general population., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: First investigations indicate a migration background of residents in Germany as a discrete risk factor for poor oral health. A lower level of oral health literacy among people with a migration background is considered a reason worthy of being investigated., Aim: This article presents results on oral health literacy and oral health gained from the MuMi study (promoting oral health and oral health literacy of people with a migration background)., Methods: The oral health and oral health literacy as well as the sociodemographics of patients with and without migration background were examined in 40 dental surgeries in Hamburg, Germany. Associations between migrant status, oral health, and oral health literacy were analyzed with logistic regressions. Potential confounders were gradually integrated into the multivariate analyses., Results: Patients with and without a migration background differed significantly in oral health literacy and clinical parameters of oral health (approximal plaque index and degree of caries restoration). The logistic regression analysis revealed highly significant associations between migration background, oral health literacy, and oral hygiene, while also accounting for education and socioeconomic status., Discussion: Migration background constitutes a discrete risk factor for lower oral health and oral health literacy for these relevant population groups. This fact needs stronger reflection in further research and political decision-making in order to promote equality of oral health opportunities., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: There is a lack of studies investigating the impact of postponed dental visits due to financial constraints on quality of life., Aims: The aim of this study was to identify whether these factors are associated longitudinally., Methods: Data were derived from waves 5 and 6 of the "Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe" (SHARE). The analysis focused on Germany (n = 7506). The widely used CASP-12 was used to quantify the quality of life. Postponed dental visits for financial reasons in the preceding 12 months (no, yes) were used as the main explanatory variable. Socioeconomic and health-related covariates were included in regression analysis., Results: Gender stratified regression analysis showed that quality of life decreased with the presence of postponed dental visits due to financial reasons in men. Furthermore, quality of life decreased with the worsening of self-rated health in both men and women. The outcome measure was not associated with age, marital status, income, and chronic diseases in both sexes., Discussion: Study findings suggest that postponing dental visits due to financial constraints contributes to a decreased quality of life among older men., Conclusion: Efforts to avoid these circumstances might help to maintain the quality of life in older men.

Background: The majority of acute care hospitals are not prepared for people with dementia with acute diseases in need of treatment. This results in an increased likelihood of the personnel being overtaxed. Dementia is the most frequent reason that hospital personnel administer sedating medication and use restraining measures., Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate factors that influence the (inappropriate) use of sedating medication and physical restraints for patients with dementia in acute care hospitals., Methods: A non-randomized case control study, including two internal medicine wards was conducted in Hamburg, Germany. In the intervention group a special care concept was implemented focussing on patients with dementia, while the control group received regular care without a special dementia care concept. Logistic regression models were conducted to investigate associations between factors, such as age, severity of dementia, conspicuous behavior, Barthel index and type of treatment and the use of sedating medication and physical restraint measures., Results: Challenging behavior (odds ratio, OR = 1.32) and treatment in the control group (OR=1.94) were significantly associated with the use of sedating medication. A low Barthel index, longer periods of hospitalization and treatment in the control group were significantly associated with a higher probability of the implementation of physical restraining measures., Discussion: The use of sedating medication as well as physical restraining measures varied greatly between the intervention and control groups. This is in line with other studies that came to similar results and suggests that multiple components of special care concepts can explain these differences. These include architectonic design and spatial aspects as well as dementia-specific training of employees and an appropriate personnel complement. Such interventions can also reduce agitation and behavioral problems of patients. The avoidance of sedation and restraining measures is also positively associated with an increase in the quality of life of patients with dementia.

Over the last decades, health-related collective mutual aid, such as self-help groups, support groups and patient organizations, has become an important player in Germany's healthcare system. As autonomous collectives of patients and their relatives in manifold indication areas, they act and organize themselves on a voluntary basis. Increasingly, they have a greater say and are turning into collaborators in the development of the healthcare system. Self-help representatives are involved in committees as patient representatives on all political levels, national as well as federal state and local. In these roles they are also spokespersons for the interests of patients and their relatives.Self-help groups (SHGs) and self-help organizations (SHOs) are forming specific patient collectives that are seeking cooperation with the healthcare system. This article is about different forms and possibilities of inpatient and ambulatory healthcare institutions to achieve collective patient centeredness and patient involvement over and above individual patient centeredness. Furthermore, activities of SHGs and SHOs to promote their integration in healthcare structures are discussed.

Background: Self-help groups (SHGs) are an inherent part of patient involvement and play an important role in the healthcare system. Until now, however, there has been a lack of systematic investigations and quantitative data about the individual impact of self-help for patients and relatives., Objectives: This study presents the results of a comparison between members of SHGs and non-members. Thereby, the effects of self-help shall be described in terms of empowerment and self-management. The study is part of the project "Health-related Collective Self-Help in Germany" (Gesundheitsbezogene Selbsthilfe in Deutschland-SHILD) funded by the Federal Ministry of Health., Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with patients from five therapeutic areas (diabetes mellitus type 2, prostate cancer, multiple sclerosis, tinnitus, relatives of dementia patients). Participants administered a multidimensional questionnaire (paper-and-pencil or online). Of the 2870 participants in this analysis, 49% were active members of SHGs., Results: Statistical analysis showed some significant, but small differences between the two groups in five out of seven scales of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) in favour of the SHG members. Furthermore, SHG members performed better in specific knowledge tests. Members see the importance of their group especially in social inclusion, psychosocial relief, coping with the disease and new insights in dealing with the disease., Conclusions: With respect to the study design we cannot rule out that differences might be based on personal characteristics influencing the decision to participate in a SHG or not. But as the results are controlled for confounders, the hypothesis that SHG participation has a positive impact on the outcomes rather than vice versa seems supported.

Health literacy has recently been put on the health policy agenda in Germany, triggered by several recent studies that show that more than half of the German population has difficulties in finding, understanding, appraising and applying health information. Respective statistics reflect these individual difficulties and point at user preferences and competencies being inadequately considered and responded to by the healthcare system. Among other measures to improve this situation, a national action plan on health literacy was launched in 2018, which explicitly addresses self-help groups and self-help organisations repeatedly as an important player in promoting health literacy on individual and organisational levels.This article discusses the relevance of the underlying and guiding concept of empowerment in mutual self-help and concludes that fostering health literacy was and still is a cornerstone in health-related self-help from the very beginning - just without using this term. Based on results from surveys, we show how those participating members of self-help groups increase their health literacy, and how educative, supportive and advisory tasks for self-help groups and organisations emerge from these developments. Thereupon, the specific role of mutual self-help becomes evident for, specifically, the individual daily life dimensions of health literacy.