Academic Unit of Oral Health, Dentistry and Society, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Department of Dental Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Paediatr Dent. 2022 Nov;32(6):856-864. doi: 10.1111/ipd.12962. Epub 2022 May 1.
The clinical focus on oral health means there is a scarcity of evidence from the perspectives of children with disabilities because of the continuing exclusion of their views from oral health research. This study takes a rights-based approach, aiming to give disabled children a voice by exploring their oral health perspectives and experiences. In order to do this, innovative and inclusive methods are needed.
The aim was to include the voices of children with disabilities by representing their perspectives and experiences of oral health.
An ethnographic study employed a purposive sample of 10 children between the ages of 9 and 15 years with a range of intellectual disabilities and physical impairments attending special centres in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All children in the sample were female. Pluralistic methods enabled the inclusion of children in the research. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
The study describes different inclusive methods to enable children's voices on oral health. Main themes were children's knowledge, and their oral health practices and experiences of visiting dental clinics. Children also described the physical barriers they experienced and their positive and negative feelings about oral health.
The study highlights that including children with disabilities in oral health research is possible, but that researchers need to be creative and be able to work in tandem with children. One goal for dental research is to include all children as active participants, working with them as collaborators. This would help transform services and reduce children's oral health inequalities.
临床关注口腔健康，这意味着残疾儿童的口腔健康观点几乎没有证据，因为他们的观点在口腔健康研究中仍然被排除在外。本研究采用基于权利的方法，旨在通过探索残疾儿童的口腔健康观点和经验赋予他们发言权。为此，需要创新和包容性的方法。
本研究旨在通过代表残疾儿童的口腔健康观点和经验来收录他们的声音。
一项人种学研究采用了目的性抽样，选择了 10 名 9 至 15 岁的残疾儿童，他们的智力残疾和身体残疾程度不同，在沙特阿拉伯利雅得的特殊中心就读。所有参与研究的儿童均为女性。多元方法使儿童能够参与研究。使用主题分析来分析数据。
本研究描述了不同的包容性方法，以使儿童能够表达他们对口腔健康的看法。主要主题是儿童的知识，以及他们的口腔健康实践和就诊牙科诊所的经验。儿童还描述了他们在身体上遇到的障碍，以及他们对口腔健康的积极和消极感受。
本研究强调，将残疾儿童纳入口腔健康研究是可能的，但研究人员需要有创造力，并能够与儿童合作。牙科研究的一个目标是让所有儿童作为积极的参与者，与他们合作。这将有助于改善服务并减少儿童的口腔健康不平等。
