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Background Little is known about the oral health profile of forcibly displaced persons (internally displaced persons (IDPs), and refugees), and migrants in Nigeria, despite being one of the largest communities of people with humanitarian service needs in the world. This study assessed the associations between dental caries prevention knowledge, self-care dental caries preventive practices, and dental caries prevention knowledge among IDPs, refugees, and migrants in Nigeria. Methods This was a secondary analysis of the data of a cross-sectional study conducted in five states in Nigeria—Borno, Taraba, Yobe, Cross River, and Benue— with large populations of refugees, IDPs, and migrants in December 2024. The data of 1554 women (IDPs: 690; migrants: 281; and refugees: 583) who had children in their care were extracted for this study. The data extracted were the dependent variables (knowledge of dental caries prevention, daily use of fluoridated toothpaste, daily tooth brushing frequency, and daily frequency of consumption of refined carbohydrates between meals), the confounding variables (educational level, current marital status, and age at last birthday), and the independent variables (IDPs, refugees, and migrants’ status). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the associations between the dependent and independent variables after adjusting for the confounders. Results Both IDPs (AOR: 3.68, p  < 0.001) and migrants (AOR: 3.89, p  < 0.001) had significantly higher odds of good dental caries prevention knowledge compared to refugees. On the other hand, IDPs (AOR = 0.22, p  < 0.001) and migrants (AOR: 0.56, p  < 0.001) were less likely to brush twice daily than refugees. of daily use of fluoride-containing toothpaste every time or almost every time than refugees, but the difference was not statistically significant. On the converse, both IDPs and migrants had lower odds of consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals daily, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion Although IDPs and migrants demonstrated better knowledge of dental caries prevention compared to refugees, they seemed less likely than refugees to brush twice daily. This highlights a disconnect between knowledge and practices in displacement settings. Studies are needed to explore contextual drivers of dental caries preventive knowledge and practices among IDPs, migrants, and refugees.

Background Forcibly displaced populations, refugees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and migrants face distinct challenges, increasing vulnerability to HIV infection and substance use disorders. This study assessed the associations between psychological distress, alcohol consumption, substance use, and HIV risk behaviour among these populations in Nigeria. Methods This was a secondary analysis of the data of a cross-sectional study, collected in five states in Nigeria (Benue, Borno, Cross Rivers, Taraba, and Yobe), in December 2024. Data collected included the dependent variable (HIV risk behavior), independent variables (psychological distress level, substance use, and alcohol consumption), and confounding variables (age, sex at birth, sexual orientation, educational level, marital status, employment/occupational status, and religious status). A stepwise approach was used in the building of four models. Model 1 presented the unadjusted bivariate analysis. Model 2 was the adjusted multivariate logistic regression. Model 3 assessed the interaction effect of psychological distress level, alcohol consumption, substance use, and being IDP on HIV risk behaviour, and Model 4 assessed the same interaction for refugees. Results The sample of 3,211 participants included 1237 (38.5%) migrants, 1497 (46.6%) IDPs, and 477 (14.9%) refugees. Among participants, moderate (AOR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.38–1.56; p  < 0.001) and high (AOR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.57–1.85; p  = 0.01) psychological distress significantly increased the odds of high-risk sexual behaviour. IDPs had the highest odds of engaging in risky behaviour compared to migrants (AOR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.32–1.92; p  = 0.02). Substance use further amplified risk, particularly for IDPs (OR: 3.17; 95% CI: 2.11–3.72; p  < 0.001) and refugees (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 2.02–2.37; p  < 0.001) compared to migrants. No significant association was found between alcohol consumption and HIV risk behaviour. Conclusion This study highlights the compounded vulnerability of IDPs and refugees, driven by psychological distress and substance use. Findings underscore the urgent need for integrated interventions addressing mental health, substance use, and HIV prevention tailored to forcibly displaced populations in Nigeria.