KOTA KINABALU: The national oral health survey of adults 2020 (Nohsa 2020) in Sabah has resumed after two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It started in June and will end next month.
Sabah Community Development and People's Wellbeing Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said the programme was aimed at obtaining information on the status of oral health and the impact on the quality of life among Malaysians aged 15 years and above.
He said the survey was conducted by the dental health programme in collaboration with the Public Health Institute of the Health Ministry.
Shahelmey, who is also the state health executive councillor, said the Nohsa team would visit 704 homes which were randomly selected by the researchers. The survey would be conducted in Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Papar, Penampang, Putatan, Beaufort, Keningau, Tenom, Tawau, Semporna, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Kudat, Kota Marudu and Kota Belud.
"So far, the team has visited 289 homes in Sabah. Some 23,000 respondents nationwide will be interviewed for the survey.
"Nohsa 2010 has reported that 94.9 per cent of the adult population in Sabah have dental cavities and 96.9 per cent have gum disease compared with the national levels of 88.9 per cent and 94 per cent respectively," he told the media at his office in Wisma Tun Fuad Stephens here.
Shahelmey encouraged respondents to give their cooperation to the Nohsa team as in some areas the team faced difficulty in collecting data.
He advised the respondents to look out for the Nohsa team in a van that had Sabah State Health Department emblem.
The officer will carry an identification letter from the Health Ministry. The name of the officer can be checked at http://dpims.moh.gov.my or MoH dental health programme Facebook.
Further information can be obtained from Sabah coordinator for Nohsa 2020, Dr Rathmawati Ahmad or Dr Adelina Akan at 088-249172.
Shahelmey said information obtained from the study would be taken into account in the future planning for dental health services.
