Department of Nursing Research, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
SOS Mentor, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 3;18(7):3751. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073751.
Diet and food choices significantly impact teeth, including enamel quality and development of dental caries. However, studies focusing on diet and its relation to oral care in Latinx children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been minimally addressed in research. This qualitative study used an inclusive visual methodology to explore what Latinx caregivers learned about their child's diet preferences and food routines in relation to their oral health. As a secondary aim, the study sought to explore whether notable differences in diet emerged between Latinx children with and without ASD. Participants were 32 Latinx caregivers from 18 families with children with and without Autism ( = 8 with a typically developing child and = 10 with a child with ASD) who completed a food journal activity and photo elicitation interview. Interviews were thematically coded for themes pertaining to parents' perceptions of their child's diet and oral health. Findings of this study indicate that the process of taking photos helped Latinx caregivers to better situate the barriers and behaviors influencing everyday food routines in their children within the context of relating to their overall oral health. Via their active participation in the research process, parents were empowered to note strategies they could employ that would directly impact their child's oral health outcomes, such as reducing juice intake and monitoring sugar consumption. Therefore, visual research methodologies are an important strategy for researchers to consider in order to empower participants to be part of the research process and part of the outcomes, and to offer better understanding of the lived experience of populations underrepresented in the literature, such as Latinx children with and without ASD and their families.
饮食和食物选择对牙齿有重大影响，包括牙釉质质量和龋齿的发展。然而，在研究中，针对拉丁裔儿童（无论是否患有自闭症谱系障碍）的饮食及其与口腔护理的关系的研究很少。本定性研究使用包容性视觉方法来探讨拉丁裔照顾者在与口腔健康相关的情况下，了解其孩子的饮食偏好和食物常规的情况。作为次要目标，该研究还旨在探讨拉丁裔儿童（无论是否患有自闭症）的饮食是否存在显著差异。参与者是来自 18 个家庭的 32 名拉丁裔照顾者，这些家庭的孩子患有自闭症（= 8 名发育正常的孩子和= 10 名自闭症孩子），他们完成了饮食日记活动和照片启发式访谈。访谈根据主题进行编码，主题涉及父母对孩子饮食和口腔健康的看法。本研究的结果表明，拍照过程有助于拉丁裔照顾者更好地将影响孩子日常饮食规律的障碍和行为置于与整体口腔健康相关的背景下。通过积极参与研究过程，父母能够注意到可以直接影响孩子口腔健康结果的策略，例如减少果汁摄入量和监控糖分摄入。因此，视觉研究方法是研究人员需要考虑的一个重要策略，以便赋予参与者参与研究过程和结果的权力，并更好地了解文献中代表性不足的人群（如拉丁裔儿童（无论是否患有自闭症）及其家庭）的生活体验。
