Browsing by Subject "dental health"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Dental problems and Familismo: social network discussion of oral health issues among adults of Mexican origin living in the Midwest United States
    (Dennis Barber, 2016-12) Maupomé, G.; McConnell, W. R.; Perry, B. L.; Periodontics and Allied Dental Programs, School of Dentistry
    Objective: To examine the influence of collectivist orientation (often called familismo when applied to the Latino sub-group in the United States) in oral health discussion networks. Basic Research Design: Through respondent-driven sampling and face-to-face interviews, we identified respondents' (egos) personal social network members (alters). Egos stated whom they talked with about oral health, and how often they discussed dental problems in the preceding 12 months. Participants: An urban community of adult Mexican-American immigrants in the Midwest United States. We interviewed 332 egos (90% born in Mexico); egos named an average of 3.9 alters in their networks, 1,299 in total. Method: We applied egocentric network methods to examine the ego, alter, and network variables that characterize health discussion networks. Results: Kin were most often leveraged when dental problems arose; egos relied on individuals whom they perceive to have better knowledge about dental matters. However, reliance on knowledgeable alters decreased among egos with greater behavioral acculturation. Conclusions: This paper developed a network-based conceptualization of familismo. We describe the structure of oral health networks, including kin, fictive kin, peers, and health professionals, and examine how networks and acculturation help shape oral health among these Mexican-Americans.
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    Oral health beliefs and behaviors of nurse and nurse practitioner students using the HU-DBI inventory: An opportunity for oral health vicarious learning
    (Sciedu, 2017) Walker, Kimberly K.; Jackson, Richard D.; Cariology, Operative Dentistry and Dental Public Health, School of Dentistry
    Background: Oral health access to care issues are resulting in curricular changes to train nursing students as oral health educators and providers. However, little data are available concerning their personal oral health beliefs/behaviors. The study purpose was to gather information from nurse and nurse practitioner students regarding their oral health beliefs and behaviors. Methods: Using the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI), survey data were gathered from nurse and nurse practitioner students as well as dental hygiene students as controls concerning their oral health beliefs and behaviors. Results: Mean HU-DBI scores were higher among nurse practitioner than nursing students, indicating more positive beliefs/behaviors, but both were lower than dental hygiene students. Both nurse and nurse practitioner students reported significantly fewer dental visits and some poorer hygiene practices than controls. Additionally, nursing students were more likely to believe that their teeth were worsening despite brushing. Conclusions: Assessment of personal oral health beliefs/behaviors should occur early in nursing education with mentoring so that optimal modeling can positively impact patients’ oral health. Oral health education opportunities within and among disciplines are discussed.
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    Social support associated with restorative treatment, professionally applied fluoride and flossing: A cross-sectional analysis including recent immigrants from Central America and Mexico in the Midwest USA
    (Wiley, 2023) Brooks, Caroline V.; Maupomé, Gerardo; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Objectives This study examined how Mexican and Central American immigrants' social support was associated with three selected dental outcomes among recent immigrants, prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Using baseline wave data from the 2017–2022 VidaSana study about the health and social networks of Mexican and Central American immigrants living in Indiana, this study utilized logistic and ordinal logistic regression to predict lifetime fluoride use, lifetime dental restoration and flossing frequency, across levels of social support and differences between Mexican and Central American immigrants. Results Data from 547 respondents were included in the present analysis (68% women; mean age 34.4 years [SD 11.2]; Central American 42%; Mexican 58%). Results show a high level of social support was associated with increased probability of fluoride use, dental restoration and higher flossing frequency for Mexican immigrants. However, social support for Central American immigrants was associated with a decreased likelihood of fluoride use, more infrequent flossing, and had no significant association with dental restorations experience. What would be a negative association between Central American immigrants and dental restoration was accounted for by education level and never having been to a dentist. Conclusions While higher social support was linked to beneficial outcomes for oral health in Mexican immigrants, the opposite was found in Central Americans. These findings highlighted the complexities of social relationships among new immigrants, and potential heterogeneity within the Hispanic population, particularly regarding social and behavioural measures as they pertain to oral health. Further research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms producing both differences in social support and oral health outcomes.