Kwan S Y, Holmes M A
Oral Health and Ethnicity Unit, Leeds Dental Institute, UK.
Health Educ Res. 1999 Aug;14(4):453-60. doi: 10.1093/her/14.4.453.
This qualitative study explores oral health beliefs and attitudes among Chinese resident in West Yorkshire using six focus groups differentiated by age and gender. Focus group discussions took place in community settings led by trained Chinese facilitators. All groups believed that they were susceptible to dental disease, and that bleeding gums and total tooth loss were 'normal'; apart from the elderly, tooth loss was seen as undesirable. The elderly and adult groups believed in traditional remedies and claimed that preventive oral health measures were ineffective. These groups lacked faith in dentists, and for them cost, language difficulties and lack of awareness were the main reported barriers to accessing dental services. Traditional Chinese oral health beliefs remain influential for the elderly and adult UK Chinese. In contrast, teenagers thought that toothbrushing and sugar restriction would help to prevent dental diseases. The appropriateness of the focus group and interview methods for exploring oral health beliefs for the Chinese are discussed, as are implications of the reported intergenerational differences for oral health promotion strategy in the UK.
这项定性研究通过六个按年龄和性别区分的焦点小组，探讨了西约克郡华人居民的口腔健康观念和态度。焦点小组讨论在由训练有素的华裔主持人主持的社区环境中进行。所有小组都认为他们易患牙病，牙龈出血和牙齿全部脱落是“正常的”；除了老年人，牙齿脱落被视为不理想的情况。老年组和成年组相信传统疗法，并声称预防性口腔健康措施无效。这些群体对牙医缺乏信心，对他们来说，费用、语言困难和缺乏认识是报告的获得牙科服务的主要障碍。传统的中国口腔健康观念对英国的老年和成年华人仍然有影响。相比之下，青少年认为刷牙和限制糖分摄入有助于预防牙病。本文讨论了焦点小组和访谈方法对于探索华人的口腔健康观念的适用性，以及所报告的代际差异对英国口腔健康促进策略的影响。
