Illness beliefs in people with dry mouth

Illness beliefs are peoples' ideas about their health condition, its causes, manifestations and impacts. Such cognitive beliefs are key factors for understanding how individuals make sense of and manage health conditions and determine coping responses and outcomes in many chronic conditions. There has been little research on illness beliefs in relation to oral health. Objective: To explore the illness beliefs and coping strategies associated with dry mouth. Methods: Secondary analysis of data collected through semi-structured interviews with individuals who identified themselves as suffering from dry mouth. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Framework analysis was used to explore illness beliefs and coping strategies in peoples' everyday lives. Results: Participants' beliefs about dry mouth centred on (i) identity which concerned the everyday symptoms such as oral stickiness, dehydration, coughing; (ii) cause relating to the origin of their condition such as other disease, medication, age, stress; (iii) consequences which concerned the physical, psychological and social impacts of the condition (e.g. inability to eat certain foods, drinking large quantities of water, frequent visits to the toilet, waking at night); (iv) control which centred on beliefs about the internal or external controllability of the condition; and (v) timeline which concerned beliefs about the likely duration of the condition. These beliefs interrelated with participants' coping responses which included avoidant (e.g. minimising dry or salty foods) and approach strategies (e.g. using certain toothpastes, chewing gum, taking water everywhere). Conclusions: Previous research on dry mouth has not considered peoples' beliefs about their condition and how they may relate to the strategies employed to cope in their everyday lives. Dry mouth is experienced in complex ways, with a variety of lay beliefs, impacts and coping strategies that support existing theories of illness cognitions.

Funded by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare