Bigelow Carrie, Patton Lauren L, Strauss Ronald P, Wilder Rebecca S
University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
J Dent Hyg. 2007 Fall;81(4):83. Epub 2007 Oct 1.
Many oral and pharyngeal cancers (OPC) are preventable. Early detection improves survival rates. Hygienists have opportunities to help reduce the oral cancer burden among their patients.
The purpose of this project was to qualitatively assess North Carolina dental Hygienists' views regarding OPC prevention and early detection.
Sixteen practicing dental hygienists participated in 2, 8-person focus groups. Focus groups were taped, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively for content.
Four major themes arose: 1) The charge of the dental hygienist was not necessarily to diagnose cancer, but to recognize abnormalities and initiate referral when necessary; 2) The dental hygienist is only helpful in the tobacco cessation process if the patient has a desire to quit; 3) The dental hygienist is most effective if the patient believes the provider is genuine and truly cares about the patient's well-being; 4) There is always a need for continued education in oral cancer screenings and tobacco cessation, specifically for hands-on courses. Barriers to performing OPC exams included: financial, time, and insufficient dentist support. Barriers for dental hygienists in providing tobacco cessation counseling included: lack of patient interest, lack of patient education materials and resources, smoking parents of adolescents, personality issues, and provider-patient diversity in age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.
Dental hygienists felt their most important contribution to oral cancer control was patient education and oral cancer awareness. Professional continuing education is important and barriers need to be addressed to improve oral cancer control efforts.
许多口腔和口咽癌（OPC）是可预防的。早期检测可提高生存率。口腔保健员有机会帮助减轻患者的口腔癌负担。
本项目的目的是定性评估北卡罗来纳州口腔保健员对OPC预防和早期检测的看法。
16名执业口腔保健员参加了2个由8人组成的焦点小组。焦点小组进行了录音、转录，并对内容进行了定性分析。
出现了四个主要主题：1）口腔保健员的职责不一定是诊断癌症，而是识别异常情况并在必要时进行转诊；2）只有患者有戒烟意愿时，口腔保健员在戒烟过程中才会有帮助；3）如果患者相信提供者是真诚的并且真正关心患者的健康，口腔保健员的效果最佳；4）始终需要持续开展口腔癌筛查和戒烟方面的教育，特别是实践课程。进行OPC检查的障碍包括：资金、时间和牙医支持不足。口腔保健员在提供戒烟咨询方面的障碍包括：患者缺乏兴趣、缺乏患者教育材料和资源、青少年吸烟的父母、性格问题以及提供者与患者在年龄、性别、种族和文化方面的差异。
口腔保健员认为他们对口腔癌控制最重要的贡献是患者教育和提高口腔癌意识。专业继续教育很重要，需要解决障碍以加强口腔癌控制工作。
