Reducing Alaska Native paediatric oral health disparities: a systematic review of oral health interventions and a case study on multilevel strategies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake.
Pages 633-645 in N. Murphy and A. Parkinson, eds. Circumpolar Health 2012: Circumpolar Health Comes Full Circle. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, August 5-10, 2012. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2013;72 (Suppl 1):633-645
University of Washington, School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Health Sciences, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Source
Pages 633-645 in N. Murphy and A. Parkinson, eds. Circumpolar Health 2012: Circumpolar Health Comes Full Circle. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, August 5-10, 2012. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2013;72 (Suppl 1):633-645
Tooth decay is the most common paediatric disease and there is a serious paediatric tooth decay epidemic in Alaska Native communities. When untreated, tooth decay can lead to pain, infection, systemic health problems, hospitalisations and in rare cases death, as well as school absenteeism, poor grades and low quality-of-life. The extent to which population-based oral health interventions have been conducted in Alaska Native paediatric populations is unknown.
To conduct a systematic review of oral health interventions aimed at Alaska Native children below age 18 and to present a case study and conceptual model on multilevel intervention strategies aimed at reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake among Alaska Native children.
Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement, the terms "Alaska Native", "children" and "oral health" were used to search Medline, Embase, Web of Science, GoogleScholar and health foundation websites (1970-2012) for relevant clinical trials and evaluation studies.
Eighty-five studies were found in Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases and there were 663 hits in GoogleScholar. A total of 9 publications were included in the qualitative review. These publications describe 3 interventions that focused on: reducing paediatric tooth decay by educating families and communities; providing dental chemotherapeutics to pregnant women; and training mid-level dental care providers. While these approaches have the potential to improve the oral health of Alaska Native children, there are unique challenges regarding intervention acceptability, reach and sustainability. A case study and conceptual model are presented on multilevel strategies to reduce SSB intake among Alaska Native children.
Few oral health interventions have been tested within Alaska Native communities. Community-centred multilevel interventions are promising approaches to improve the oral and systemic health of Alaska Native children. Future investigators should evaluate the feasibility of implementing multilevel interventions and policies within Alaska Native communities as a way to reduce children's health disparities.
Notes
Cites: J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 2012 May;2012(44):2-1022623590
Cites: J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 2012 May;2012(44):34-4122623594
Cites: J Public Health Dent. 2012 Summer;72(3):208-1522515656
Cites: Health Econ. 2012 Nov;21(11):1367-7421887810
Cites: N Engl J Med. 2012 Oct 11;367(15):1397-40622998340
Cites: J Public Health Dent. 2013 Winter;73(1):24-3122731632
Cites: Community Dent Health. 1998 Sep;15(3):132-4410645682
Cites: Public Health Rep. 2000 Jul-Aug;115(4):308-1911059423
Cites: Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2000 Dec;28(6):399-40611106011
Cites: J Public Health Dent. 2000;60 Suppl 1:243-911243042