School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
JDR Clin Trans Res. 2021 Jan;6(1):47-58. doi: 10.1177/2380084420904043. Epub 2020 Feb 10.
This study evaluated strength-based motivators within Hispanic families that support the creation of health in their children. A mixed-methods approach was used to understand differences in Hispanic parental factors between caries-free (CF) and caries-active (CA) children.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 200 parent-child triads (primary child: between 0 and 6 y; reference child: between 0 and 10 y) recruited from health centers in the Denver Metro area. All the participating children received an oral examination, and the triads were grouped as CF or CA based on the caries status of the primary child. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with the parents. The analysis only involved the primary child. Bivariable analysis were conducted between parent factors (independent variables) and presence or absence of caries (outcome variable). The variables with < 0.20 in the bivariable analysis were subjected to 2 multivariable logistic regression models. The children in the CF group had mean (SD) age of 2.8 (1.28) y compared to the CA group at 4.0 (1.55) y ( < 0.001). Bivariable analysis demonstrated that parents in the CF group reported higher oral hygiene behavior scores ( = 0.047), perceived fewer barriers ( = 0.009) to accessing preventive dental care, and considered their children more susceptible to cavities ( = 0.001) compared to parents in the CA group. Multivariable model (adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics) demonstrated that parents of CF children perceived high susceptibility to caries for their children ( = 0.040). Multivariable model (adjusting for acculturation) demonstrated an association of parental oral hygiene behavior ( = 0.040) and parent-perceived susceptibility to caries ( = 0.010) with CF child status. Qualitative interviews revealed that parents in the CF group were concerned about their children's higher susceptibility to caries and tried to establish good oral hygiene routines for their children.
The results of this study demonstrated that parental behaviors and health beliefs could be significant determinants of caries status in Hispanic children.
Results of this study indicate that parental oral health beliefs and behaviors are significant determinants of caries status in children of Hispanic population. Parental beliefs could motivate them to take action or establish behavior that prevents dental caries in their children. Health care providers and caries prevention efforts can incorporate this information to tailor oral health promotional messaging and approaches to improve the oral health of Hispanic children.
本研究评估了支持儿童健康的西班牙裔家庭中的基于优势的激励因素。采用混合方法来了解无龋（CF）和龋活跃（CA）儿童的西班牙裔父母因素之间的差异。
在丹佛都会区的健康中心招募了 200 个亲子三人组（主要儿童：0 至 6 岁；参考儿童：0 至 10 岁）进行横断面调查。所有参与的儿童都接受了口腔检查，并根据主要儿童的龋齿状况将三人组分为 CF 或 CA。通过对父母进行深入的个人访谈收集定性数据。分析仅涉及主要儿童。在父母因素（自变量）和有无龋齿（结果变量）之间进行了双变量分析。双变量分析中 < 0.20 的变量进行了 2 个多变量逻辑回归模型分析。CF 组儿童的平均（SD）年龄为 2.8（1.28）岁，而 CA 组为 4.0（1.55）岁（<0.001）。双变量分析表明，CF 组的父母报告了更高的口腔卫生行为评分（=0.047），认为获得预防性牙科保健的障碍较少（=0.009），并且认为他们的孩子更容易患龋齿（=0.001）与 CA 组的父母相比。多变量模型（调整社会经济特征）表明，CF 儿童的父母认为他们的孩子对龋齿的易感性很高（=0.040）。多变量模型（调整文化适应）表明，父母的口腔卫生行为（=0.040）和父母对龋齿易感性的认知（=0.010）与 CF 儿童状况相关。定性访谈显示，CF 组的父母对孩子较高的龋齿易感性感到担忧，并试图为孩子建立良好的口腔卫生习惯。
本研究结果表明，父母的行为和健康信念可能是西班牙裔儿童龋齿状况的重要决定因素。
本研究结果表明，父母的口腔健康信念和行为是西班牙裔人群儿童龋齿状况的重要决定因素。父母的信念可以促使他们采取行动或建立行为，以防止其子女发生龋齿。医疗保健提供者和龋齿预防工作可以利用这些信息来调整口腔健康宣传信息和方法，以改善西班牙裔儿童的口腔健康。
