Child-, Family-, and Community-Level Facilitators for Promoting Oral Health Practices among Indigenous Children

Brianna F. Poirier, Joanne Hedges, Lisa G. Smithers, Megan Moskos and Lisa M. Jamieson
Additional contact information
Brianna F. Poirier: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Joanne Hedges: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Lisa G. Smithers: School of Public Health and the Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Megan Moskos: Future of Employment and Skills Research Centre, School of Economic and Public Policy, Faculty of the Professions, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Lisa M. Jamieson: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: Despite the preventive nature of oral diseases and their significance for general wellbeing, poor oral health is highly prevalent and has unfavourable ramifications for children around the world. Indigenous children in Australia experience disproportionate rates of early childhood caries compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Therefore, this paper aims to collate parental experiences and generate an understanding of facilitators for Indigenous childhood oral health. This project aggregated stories from parents of Indigenous children across South Australia who were participants in an early childhood caries-prevention trial. This paper explores facilitators for establishing oral health and nutrition behaviours for Indigenous children under the age of three through reflexive thematic analysis. Fisher-Owens’ conceptual model for influences on children’s oral health is utilised as a framework for thematic findings. Child-level facilitators include oral hygiene routines and regular water consumption. Family-level facilitators include familial ties, importance of knowledge, and positive oral health beliefs. Community-level facilitators include generational teaching, helpful community resources, and holistic health care. Recommendations from findings include the following: exploration of Indigenous health workers and elder participation in oral health initiatives; inclusion of Indigenous community representatives in mainstream oral health discussions; and incorporation of child-level, family-level, and community-level facilitators to increase support for efficacious oral health programs.

Keywords: Indigenous peoples; oral health; dental caries; public health dentistry; motivational interviewing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1150/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1150/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1150-:d:729400

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().