Patterson-Norrie Tiffany, Ramjan Lucie, Sousa Mariana S, George Ajesh
Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health (ACIOH), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.
J Eat Disord. 2023 Jul 17;11(1):121. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00841-9.
Limited evidence exists describing the impact to oral health when living with an eating disorder and the availability of information or access to oral health services. This study investigated the perceptions of individuals with a lived experience of an eating disorder specifically to understand their needs and recommendations for improving access to early intervention and oral health promotion.
Using purposive sampling a total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants across Australia who had a lived experience of an eating disorder. A hybrid inductive and deductive approach to thematic analysis was used to construct salient themes and subthemes.
Most participants had experienced some oral health manifestation as part of their eating disorder hence, many felt quite knowledgeable on the topic. Following their eating disorder many participants felt confident in engaging with dental services, although, barriers including embarrassment, shame, and cost compromised access at times. Participants felt strongly that greater emphasis on oral health promotion during an eating disorder was important and this may be achieved by increasing the availability of resources and using trusted non-dental health professionals like dietitians.
The need for oral health promotion while experiencing an eating disorder was evident, however, dentists can often be a costly option. Non-dental health professionals like dietitians working with clients with an eating disorder may be an acceptable alternative for closing this gap.
关于饮食失调患者的口腔健康影响以及口腔健康信息的可获取性或口腔健康服务的可及性，现有证据有限。本研究调查了有饮食失调生活经历的个体的看法，以具体了解他们对改善早期干预和口腔健康促进可及性的需求和建议。
采用目的抽样法，对澳大利亚各地有饮食失调生活经历的参与者进行了总共12次半结构式访谈。采用归纳和演绎相结合的主题分析法构建突出的主题和子主题。
大多数参与者在饮食失调过程中经历过一些口腔健康问题，因此，许多人觉得自己对这个话题相当了解。在饮食失调之后，许多参与者对寻求牙科服务感到自信，尽管包括尴尬、羞耻和费用在内的障碍有时会影响就诊。参与者强烈认为，在饮食失调期间更加强调口腔健康促进很重要，这可以通过增加资源的可及性以及利用营养师等受信任的非牙科健康专业人员来实现。
在经历饮食失调时促进口腔健康的必要性是显而易见的，然而，看牙医往往费用较高。像营养师这样的非牙科健康专业人员与饮食失调患者合作，可能是缩小这一差距的一个可接受的选择。
