Enhancing knowledge of care for oral Candidiasis infection among persons with HIV and family members (Thai)

Abstract

Oral candidiasis is a frequent oral manifestation among persons with HIV. The purpose of this quasi - experimental study was to examine the effect of an oral candidiasis teaching program on knowledge, pain in oral cavity, wound healing and weight among persons with HIV and their family members. Subjects were purposively selected from four hospitals in Chiang Mai province. There were 30 dyads (persons with HIV and their family member) in each experimental and control group. Subjects in the experimental group were taught by the researchers using a teaching program to enhance the knowledge of care of oral candidiasis infection, while subjects in the control group received only routine care. Information on how to care for oral candidiasis infection was given to each dyad, using flip charts as teaching aids. Knowledge of care for oral candidiasis infection was measured by the knowledge scale, with content validity index of 0.85 and KR-20 of 0.80. Pain in oral cavity and wound healing were measured by the numeric pain intensity scale, while wound healing form and weight were measured by having the same weight. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test. The results indicate that after the teaching sessions persons with HIV in the experimental group had higher knowledge scores than those in the control group (p<0.05). However, knowledge scores of family member in the two groups were not different. At week 10 after starting the program, persons with HIV in the experimental group had less pain in the oral cavity than those in the control group (p<0.05). Wound healing in the experimental group also seemed to be better than in the control group. There was no difference in body weight between control group and experimental group after the intervention. This study showed that a teaching program can be an effective way to enhance knowledge of care for oral candidiasis infection among persons with HIV