Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27184569›Full record

ArticleBMC oral health2016

The early childhood oral health program: a qualitative study of the perceptions of child and family health nurses in South Western Sydney, Australia.

Maxine Veale, Shilpi Ajwani, Maree Johnson, Linda Nash, Tiffany Patterson, Ajesh George

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC oral health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Maxine VealeSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Shilpi AjwaniSydney Local Health District Oral Health Services/ Sydney Dental Hospital/ University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Maree JohnsonFaculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University/Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia.
Linda NashMarrickville Community Oral Health Clinic, Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services, Sydney, Australia.
Tiffany PattersonCentre for Applied Nursing Research, Western Sydney University/ South Western Sydney Local Health District/ Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research , Sydney, Australia.
Ajesh GeorgeCollaboration for Oral Health Outcomes, Research, Translation and Evaluation (COHORTE) Research Group/Western Sydney University/South Western Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services/University of Sydney/Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia. a.george@westernsydney.edu.au.
Ingham Institute · AUWestern Sydney University · AUSydney Dental Hospital · AUSydney Local Health District · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEarly childhood caries affects nearly half the population of Australian children aged 5 years and has the potential to negatively impact their growth and development. To address this issue, an Early Childhood Oral Health (ECOH) program, facilitated by Child and Family Health Nurses (CFHNs), commenced in 2007 in New South Wales, Australia. This study builds on the previous evaluation of the program. It aims to explore the perceptions of CFHNs regarding the implementation of the ECOH program in South Western Sydney and the challenges and barriers related to its sustainability.

methodsA descriptive qualitative design was used in this study. Two focus groups were conducted with 22 CFHNs who were sampled from two Community Health Centres in South Western Sydney, Australia. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was undertaken.

resultsMost CFHNs acknowledged the importance of early childhood oral health promotion and were providing education, oral assessments and referrals during child health checks. Many stressed the need for collaboration with other health professionals to help broaden the scope of the program. Some barriers to implementing the program included confusion regarding the correct referral process, limited feedback from dental services and the lack of oral health awareness among parents.

conclusionThe study findings suggest that the ECOH program is being sustained and effectively implemented into practice by CFHNs. Improvement in the referral and feedback process as well as enhancing parental knowledge of the importance of infant and child oral health could further strengthen the effectiveness of the program. Expanding oral health education opportunities into general practice is advocated, while regular on-line training for CFHNs is preferred. Future research should include strategies to reduce non-attendances, and an assessment of the impact on the prevalence of childhood caries of the ECOH program.

Indexed as

Family HealthHealth Education, DentalOral HealthAustraliaChildChild, PreschoolHumansNew South WalesChild and family health nursesEarly childhoodOral healthPostnatalQualitative study

Identifiers

PMID27184569
PMCPMC4867529
OpenAlexW2368025811

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.