Swan Matthew A, Barker Judith C, Hoeft Kristin S
School of Dentistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Pediatr Dent. 2010 Sep-Oct;32(5):400-6.
This study's purpose was to examine rural Latino fathers' understanding of their children's oral health.
A convenience sample (n=20) of fathers from a small agricultural community in California was recruited door-to-door and interviewed in their homes. Individual qualitative interviews in Spanish were conducted. Interviews were audiotaped, translated, and transcribed. Codes were developed, and the text was analyzed for recurrent themes.
Fathers came from Mexico (n=15) and El Salvador (n=5). Fathers had very little understanding of the etiology and clinical signs of dental caries. Overall, 18 of 19 fathers reported that their wife was primarily responsible for taking care of the children's hygiene. Fathers agreed that children's teeth should be taken care of from a young age, considered to be after 2 years. The fathers described very minimal hygiene assistance given to children by either parent and often considered a verbal reminder to be sufficient assistance. Fathers generally thought a child did not need supervision after approximately age 4 (range=1-11 years).
While rural Latino fathers might not actively participate in their children's oral hygiene, they do place value on it. Men are supportive of dental treatments, albeit later than recommended. Educational messages aimed at these families will disseminate to the fathers, indirectly.
本研究旨在考察农村拉丁裔父亲对其子女口腔健康的了解情况。
从加利福尼亚州一个小型农业社区中采用便利抽样法招募了20名父亲，并上门到他们家中进行访谈。用西班牙语进行了个体定性访谈。访谈进行了录音、翻译和转录。制定了编码，并对文本进行分析以找出反复出现的主题。
父亲们来自墨西哥（15人）和萨尔瓦多（5人）。父亲们对龋齿的病因和临床症状了解甚少。总体而言，19名父亲中有18人报告说，主要由他们的妻子负责照顾孩子的卫生。父亲们一致认为，孩子的牙齿应该从小就开始护理，他们认为是在2岁之后。父亲们描述说，父母双方给予孩子的卫生护理非常少，而且通常认为口头提醒就足够了。父亲们普遍认为，孩子在大约4岁（范围为1至11岁）之后就不需要监督了。
虽然农村拉丁裔父亲可能不会积极参与孩子的口腔卫生护理，但他们确实重视这一点。男性支持牙科治疗，尽管比建议的时间要晚。针对这些家庭的教育信息将间接地传播给父亲们。
