scholarly journals Oral health of adults in northern Norway – A pilot study

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Adekoya ◽  
Magritt Brustad

There is a deficiency of data on oral health of adults in northern Norway, and available reports indicate poorer oral health in the north as compared with the rest of the country. The objective of this pilot study was to develop and test out tools for a larger epidemiological study of oral health among adults in northern Norway. The study was conducted in the municipalities of Nordkapp and Båtsfjord located in the northernmost county, Finnmark. Questionnaires and letters of invitation were sent to 100 randomly selected individuals in each town, in total 200. Those who filled and returned the questionnaires were sent appointment cards to a free oral examination at the local dental clinic. The main finding from the study was a low response rate; 34% responded to the questionnaire and 26.5% attended the oral examination. Response rate was highest among women above forty years old (37%) and lowest among men under forty years (12%). There is a necessity for further studies and strategies to increase response rate to subsequent oral epidemiologic studies in northern Norway. Radiological examination is not necessary for such studies but a questionnaire and a physical oral examination should be included.

2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-93
Author(s):  
Anna Angelinas ◽  
Roseann Nasser ◽  
Amanda Geradts ◽  
Justine Herle ◽  
Kristen Schott ◽  
...  

Purpose: Living Your Best Weight (LYBW) is an outpatient program based on Health at Every Size (HAES) principles for adults interested in managing their weight. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine perceptions of participants and their satisfaction with the LYBW program. Methods: A survey was developed to determine participant satisfaction of the LYBW program. Fifty-six participants who completed the LYBW program from June 2017 to February 2018 were contacted via telephone and invited to participate in the study. Forty-five participants agreed to receive the survey by mail or email. Results: Thirty-four participants completed the survey for a response rate of 61%. The average age of respondents was 52 years. Seventy-nine percent of respondents agreed that the program helped them to focus on health instead of weight. Eighty-two percent agreed that the program helped them respond to internal cues of hunger and fullness, and 94% were satisfied with the program. Conclusion: Participants reported that they were satisfied with the LYBW program and perceived improvements in their health. Future programming may benefit from using a HAES-based approach with adults.


Author(s):  
Kirsi Rasmus ◽  
Antti Toratti ◽  
Saujanya Karki ◽  
Paula Pesonen ◽  
Marja-Liisa Laitala ◽  
...  

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the acceptability of an oral health-related mobile application developed for young children based on the feedback given by the children and their parents. Another aim was to evaluate the self-reported change in children’s oral health behaviors during a short test period. The application—a virtual pet integrated into a child’s daily routines—aimed to promote oral hygiene and dietary behaviors in children. A total of 36 4–12-year-old voluntary children were given a mobile phone with the installed application. After the 5-week testing period, the feasibility of the application and possible changes in the children’s oral health behaviors were asked using an electronic questionnaire. Most of the children considered the application clear (n = 34), amusing (n = 31), and useful (n = 29). The children’s tooth brushing manners improved both qualitatively and quantitatively: the time used for tooth brushing increased and the children learned how to brush different tooth surfaces. Mobile applications can be fun and useful in oral health promotion; while playing, children can learn good oral health-related behaviors. Mobile applications integrate oral health promotion into children’s daily environment and routines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110133
Author(s):  
Neel Shimpi ◽  
Ingrid Glurich ◽  
Catherine Maybury ◽  
Min Qi Wang ◽  
Kazumasa Hashimoto ◽  
...  

Objective Health education interventions during pregnancy can influence maternal oral health (OH), maternal OH-behaviors and children’s OH. Interventions that can be delivered at anytime and anywhere, for example mobile-health (mHealth) provides an opportunity to address challenges of health education and support activation of women in underserved and rural communities to modify their health behavior. This pilot study was undertaken as a part of a mHealth initiative to determine knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to pregnancy and ECC prevention among women attending obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) practices at a large rurally-based clinic. Methods A cross-sectional survey study was voluntarily engaged by women (n = 191) aged 18 to 59 years attending OB/GYN visits, over a 3-week period from 12/2019 to 1/2020. Survey results were analyzed applying descriptive statistics, X2 and Fisher’s Exact tests. The significance level was set at P < .0001 for all analyses. Results Approximately half of respondents were between 18 and 29 years (53%), had a college degree (55%), and 100% reported cell phone use. Whereas 53% and 31%, respectively, indicated that they were “somewhat” or “very” sure of how to prevent ECC in their children, only 9% recognized evidence of early decay and 30% did not know the purpose of fluoride. Overall, only 27% of participants correctly answered the knowledge-based questions. Further, only 57% reported their provider explained things in a way that was easy to understand. Only 24% reported seeing a dentist during their current pregnancy. Conclusions Study results suggested potential gaps in knowledge and behaviors related to ECC prevention and provided baseline data to inform future interventions to improve ECC prevention practices. Notably, majority of participants used their cell phones for making medical/dental appointments and reported using their phones to look up health-related information. This demographic represents a potentially receptive target for mHealth approaches to improve understanding of oral health maintenance during pregnancy and ECC prevention.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Khoury ◽  
Michael A Portman ◽  
Cedric Manlhiot ◽  
Anne Fournier ◽  
Rejane F Dillenburg ◽  
...  

Background: Statins have been considered as therapy for children with coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) after Kawasaki disease (KD), due to potential beneficial pleiotropic effects which might influence chronic vascular processes and inflammation. Methods: The North American Kawasaki Disease Registry was queried to identify patients who have received statins in the first 6 months following the convalescent phase of KD. Each identified patient was matched by age, gender and CAA z score to 3 patients who were statin-naïve (controls). Linear regression models adjusted for repeated measures and maximum coronary involvement were used to determine an association of statin use with longitudinal changes in coronary artery diameter z-score. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare freedom from angiographically-confirmed stenosis or interventions. Results: Of 29 patients with KD and CAA (maximum coronary artery z-score >10) who received statins at any time (of n=621, 5%), 10 (9 males) patients were started within 6 months of the acute KD episode. The mean age at KD was 6.3±3.4 years (5.4±3.5 for controls, p=0.57). Mean maximum CAA z-score was 36±14 (vs. 29±16, p=0.20); 90% of statin patients and 87% of matched controls had CAAs in 3 or more branches. Linear regression analysis of 442 serial echocardiograms showed that maximum CAA z-score decreased by -1.5 (95%CI: -2.7; -0.4) SD/year (p=0.008) for control patients compared to -2.9 (95%CI: -4.4; -1.4) SD/year (p<0.001) for statin treated patients. The difference between the rate of change of CAA z-score for statin vs. control patients did not reach statistical significance (controls vs. statins: +1.4 SD/year, 95%CI: -0.6; +3.4, p=0.18). n=7 patients (3 on statin, 4 controls) developed stenosis or had revascularization, with no significant difference between groups (HR for statin group: 2.2 (0.4-11.4), p=0.41). Conclusions: This underpowered pilot study suggests that equipoise likely exists with regards to statin therapy in children with KD and CAA, and that a formal registry-nested trial might be considered.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1292-1301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles G Taylor ◽  
Stella N Min ◽  
Keshia M Reid

Abstract Objectives Drawing from cumulative inequality (CI) theory, the current study examined racial disparities in impairment as individuals approached death to determine whether proposed mechanisms hypothesized to fuel or diminish racial disparities at late ages were at work at the end of individualized life spans. Method Black–white disparities were analyzed among decedents using latent growth curves based on the data from the North Carolina Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) (N = 1,926). Results Consistent with previous literature, racial inequalities in functional disparities diminish at late ages. However, significant black–white disparities emerge as older adults approach death, exponentially increasing within the 2 years immediately preceding death. Further, these disparities are not fully mediated by socioeconomic status. Discussion The results confirm that CI in health outcomes is observable in late life among individual life spans, suggesting the years surrounding death may be a particularly vulnerable period for health inequality. Future research should examine how advantaged statuses translate to increased access to health-related resources that aid in maintaining greater functional independence until the last stage of life.


2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (9) ◽  
pp. 833-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Noronha ◽  
C Goswami ◽  
S Patil ◽  
A Joshi ◽  
V M Patil ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground:Docetaxel, cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil is an efficacious induction regimen but is more toxic than cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil. This study aimed to determine whether docetaxel and cisplatin without 5-fluorouracil maintains efficacy while decreasing toxicity.Methods:A multicenter non-comparative pilot study of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck was performed. Patients received primary therapy comprising three cycles of 75 mg/m2 docetaxel and 75 mg/m2 cisplatin followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The primary endpoint was the response rate to the docetaxel and cisplatin induction regimen.Results:A total of 26 patients were enrolled: of these, 23 (88.5 per cent) received all three docetaxel and cisplatin cycles. Common grade 3–4 adverse events were febrile neutropenia (19.2 per cent of patients), diarrhoea (19.2 per cent) and non-neutropenic infection (15.4 per cent). The overall response rate to docetaxel and cisplatin induction chemotherapy was 65.4 per cent. A total of 23 patients (88.5 per cent) subsequently received chemoradiotherapy with a median radiotherapy dose of 70 Gy. The response rate to chemoradiotherapy was 73 per cent. At a median follow up of 44 months, the 3-year progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 62 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively.Conclusion:Docetaxel and cisplatin induction chemotherapy is a feasible induction regimen with comparable efficacy to docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil induction chemotherapy.


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