School of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, M561 University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Western Australia.
BMC Oral Health. 2014 Jun 13;14:69. doi: 10.1186/1472-6831-14-69.
Pre-school children in families of recently settled refugees often have very high rates of early childhood caries (ECC). ECC is associated with a high level of morbidity and is largely preventable, however effective culturally appropriate models of care are lacking. This study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the refugee experience related to early oral health by exploring pre-school refugee families (i) understanding of ECC and child oral health, (ii) experiences of accessing dental services and (iii) barriers and enablers for achieving improved oral health. The knowledge gained will be critical to the development of effective early oral health programs in refugee children.
Community based participatory qualitative methodology using focus groups of resettled refugee families and community refugee nurse interviews. A community reference group was established and a bi-lingual community research associate was employed. Transcripts were analysed for thematic content using NVivo software.
There were 44 participants: eight focus groups (nine countries of origin) and five interviews. Emergent themes were (i) the major influence of parents' previous experience, including their beliefs about deciduous (baby) teeth, traditional feeding practices and poverty; and a consequent lack of understanding of the importance of early oral health and early dental caries, (ii) the burden of resettlement including prioritising, parenting, learning about new foods and how to assimilate into the community, and (iii) refugees' difficulties in accessing both information and dental services, and the role of schools in addressing these issues. An Opportunities for Change Model was proposed.
The main implication of the study is the demonstration of how enhanced understanding of the refugee experience can inform improvement in early oral prevention and treatment. The community participatory methodology of the study provided a basis for cross-cultural understanding and has already assisted in translating the findings and raising awareness in the provision of targeted refugee oral health services.
刚定居的难民家庭的学龄前儿童通常有很高的幼儿龋病（ECC）发生率。ECC 与高发病率相关，且在很大程度上是可以预防的，但缺乏有效的、文化适宜的护理模式。本研究旨在通过探索学龄前难民家庭，深入了解与早期口腔健康相关的难民经历：（一）了解 ECC 和儿童口腔健康；（二）了解获得牙科服务的经历；（三）改善口腔健康的障碍和促进因素。获得的知识对于制定有效的难民儿童早期口腔健康计划至关重要。
采用社区参与式定性方法，对已定居的难民家庭进行焦点小组讨论和社区难民护士访谈。成立了一个社区参考小组，并聘请了一名双语社区研究助理。使用 NVivo 软件对转录本进行主题内容分析。
共有 44 名参与者：八个焦点小组（九个原籍国）和五个访谈。出现的主题是：（一）父母以前经历的主要影响，包括他们对乳牙、传统喂养习惯和贫困的看法，以及由此导致的对早期口腔健康和早期龋齿重要性的理解不足；（二）定居的负担，包括优先事项、育儿、了解新食物以及如何融入社区；（三）难民在获取信息和牙科服务方面的困难，以及学校在解决这些问题方面的作用。提出了一个“改变机会模型”。
本研究的主要意义在于，展示了增强对难民经历的理解如何有助于改善早期口腔预防和治疗。研究中的社区参与式方法为跨文化理解提供了基础，并已协助将研究结果进行翻译，提高了提供有针对性的难民口腔健康服务的认识。
