Alumna, Master of Public Health program, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.
Clinical instructor, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Can J Dent Hyg. 2022 Oct 1;56(3):172-176. eCollection 2022 Oct.
In British Columbia, Canada, First Nations children and youth consistently present with a higher incidence of dental disease. Efforts to improve the oral health status of Indigenous populations have had mixed success, and programs have typically been offered through a Western lens. Recent years have brought calls for oral health professionals to embrace a more holistic approach to health promotion, representative of Indigenous cultures. Colonization has been considered a negative health determinant as it led to the destruction of culture, language, and the removal of Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands. Self-determination and cultural connection are critical to mitigating cultural genocide. Health promotion projects have the potential to support these goals. Fundamental to decolonizing oral health promotion is the development of a sustainable program founded in the traditional ways of Indigenous health and healing. The purpose of this short communication is to report on a collaborative oral health project that used cultural connection as the framework for oral health promotion in a remote Indigenous community.
在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省，原住民儿童和青少年的牙齿疾病发病率一直较高。尽管为改善原住民的口腔健康状况已做出诸多努力，但收效甚微，而且这些项目通常都是以西方视角来提供的。近年来，人们呼吁口腔健康专业人员采取更全面的健康促进方法，以体现原住民文化。殖民化被认为是一个负面的健康决定因素，因为它导致了文化、语言的破坏，以及原住民从传统土地上被驱逐。自决和文化联系对于减轻文化灭绝至关重要。健康促进项目有可能支持这些目标。殖民化口腔健康促进的基础是在原住民健康和治疗的传统方式基础上，制定可持续发展的方案。本简讯的目的是报告一个合作的口腔健康项目，该项目以文化联系为框架，在一个偏远的原住民社区开展口腔健康促进工作。
