THE USE OF ICT IN ORAL HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN CAMEROON

Background: Cameroon like other countries in the Central African subregion is not just faced with specialist oral health manpower, but also remarkable shortage of oral health information. Today, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) touches all aspects of our daily life and it can be a channel for promoting general and oral health. By leveraging digital tools and platforms, a wider audience can be reached, enhancing the provision of valuable health information thereby creating oral health awareness.Aim: To carry out a baseline field assessment of the impact of ICT on the promotion of oral health among adults in Cameroon.Methodology: A descriptive prospective study was conducted in the national territory of Cameroon from November 2019 to July 2020. An internet oral healthcare education software application featuring basic oral health information with recommended oral health practices was developed. The link of the software was widely disseminated via the internet to the national territory of Cameroon via several social media handles and websites. The software had a questionnaire that was used to test the baseline oral health knowledge and practices of the participants. Sensitization or oral health education was caried out through the various internet handles and after two months of oral health education, the same questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' oral health knowledge levels and practices.Results: A total of 4312 adults participated in the study, but only 3778 participants made up of 2176 (57.6%) men and 1451 (38.4%) women completed both the pre-test and and post-test questionnaire, representing a response rate 96%. Devices used were smartphones (43.19%), computers(36.07%), tablets (20.81%). ; Over eighty per centof study participants had never used ICT to obtain oral health information. After sensitization, tooth brushing in the mornings before meals had significantly reduced from 1518 (39%) to 286 (7.8%), compared to tooth brushing in the mornings after meals which increased from 652 (16.2%) to 1346 (36.6%). Tooth brushing in the evening after meals had increased from 1042 (26.8%) to 1654 (45%). (55%) affirmed that ICT is a potential tool to improve oral health knowledge. Nearly half 698 (45%) did not see the use of ICT as a useful tool for improving medical knowledge. Additionally, behavioural outcomes and knowledge levels had significantly increased by 48.42% and 71% respectively. The average knowledge test scores increased from 6.18 ± 3.79 to 18.13 ± 2.72.Conclusion: This study demonstrated the positive impact that ICTs could have on the promotion of oral health in adults.