Veale Maxine, Ajwani Shilpi, Johnson Maree, Nash Linda, Patterson Tiffany, George Ajesh
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services/ Sydney Dental Hospital/ University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
BMC Oral Health. 2016 May 16;16(1):56. doi: 10.1186/s12903-016-0213-0.
Early childhood caries affects nearly half the population of Australian children aged 5 years and has the potential to negatively impact their growth and development. To address this issue, an Early Childhood Oral Health (ECOH) program, facilitated by Child and Family Health Nurses (CFHNs), commenced in 2007 in New South Wales, Australia. This study builds on the previous evaluation of the program. It aims to explore the perceptions of CFHNs regarding the implementation of the ECOH program in South Western Sydney and the challenges and barriers related to its sustainability.
A descriptive qualitative design was used in this study. Two focus groups were conducted with 22 CFHNs who were sampled from two Community Health Centres in South Western Sydney, Australia. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was undertaken.
Most CFHNs acknowledged the importance of early childhood oral health promotion and were providing education, oral assessments and referrals during child health checks. Many stressed the need for collaboration with other health professionals to help broaden the scope of the program. Some barriers to implementing the program included confusion regarding the correct referral process, limited feedback from dental services and the lack of oral health awareness among parents.
The study findings suggest that the ECOH program is being sustained and effectively implemented into practice by CFHNs. Improvement in the referral and feedback process as well as enhancing parental knowledge of the importance of infant and child oral health could further strengthen the effectiveness of the program. Expanding oral health education opportunities into general practice is advocated, while regular on-line training for CFHNs is preferred. Future research should include strategies to reduce non-attendances, and an assessment of the impact on the prevalence of childhood caries of the ECOH program.
幼儿龋齿影响了近半数澳大利亚5岁儿童，并有对其生长发育产生负面影响的可能性。为解决这一问题，一项由儿童与家庭健康护士（CFHN）推动的幼儿口腔健康（ECOH）项目于2007年在澳大利亚新南威尔士州启动。本研究基于该项目之前的评估展开。其目的是探究CFHN对悉尼西南部ECOH项目实施情况的看法，以及与其可持续性相关的挑战和障碍。
本研究采用描述性定性设计。对从澳大利亚悉尼西南部两个社区卫生中心抽取的22名CFHN进行了两次焦点小组访谈。数据逐字转录并进行了主题分析。
大多数CFHN认可促进幼儿口腔健康的重要性，并在儿童健康检查期间提供教育、口腔评估和转诊服务。许多人强调需要与其他健康专业人员合作，以帮助扩大项目范围。实施该项目的一些障碍包括对正确转诊流程的困惑、牙科服务的反馈有限以及家长对口腔健康的认识不足。
研究结果表明，ECOH项目正在持续开展，并由CFHN有效地付诸实践。改善转诊和反馈流程，以及提高家长对婴幼儿口腔健康重要性的认识，可进一步增强该项目的有效性。提倡将口腔健康教育机会扩展到全科医疗，同时更倾向于为CFHN提供定期在线培训。未来的研究应包括减少未就诊情况的策略，以及对ECOH项目对儿童龋齿患病率影响的评估。
