Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40754328›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Evaluating an early childhood caries prevention strategy: a study protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial.

Peiya Cao, Yan Zhang, Shannon H Houser, Jinming Yang, Wenjuan Tao, Fan Zhang, Wei Yin, Xuedan Shi, Xing Qu

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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

9 authors.

Peiya CaoResearch Center for Healthcare Service Management and Policy, Institute of Hospital Management, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-3962-9095
Yan ZhangSichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-3166-7556
Shannon H HouserDepartment of Health Services Administration, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4846-937X
Jinming YangWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-0974-3267
Wenjuan TaoResearch Center for Healthcare Service Management and Policy, Institute of Hospital Management, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5926-2545
Fan ZhangPhysical Examination Center, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1269-0462
Wei YinDepartment of Preventive Dentistry, Sichuan University West China Hospital of Stomatology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1866-4900
Xuedan ShiOutpatient department, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-6395-0084
Xing QuResearch Center for Healthcare Service Management and Policy, Institute of Hospital Management, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China quxing@wchscu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7696-7192

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionCaries risk assessment and management (CRAM) conducted by primary care providers is critical for preventing early childhood caries. Yet, the implementation of these preventive strategies remains understudied in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a CRAM intervention in Chinese primary care settings. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a hybrid type II stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial across nine primary healthcare institutions in Luzhou City, China. Institutions will be randomly allocated into three intervention waves. Primary care providers will be trained to deliver CRAM. The two primary outcomes are (1) the proportion of primary care providers completing all CRAM procedures and (2) improvements in parents' home-based oral care practices for children under age 3. Secondary outcomes include children's oral health-related quality of life, time to first caries incidence, and the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Qualitative interviews will explore barriers and facilitators to implementation. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol has received approval from the Ethics Committee of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal publications and presentations at academic conferences. Research summaries and policy briefs will be developed for key stakeholders and decision-makers at the local, provincial and national levels. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2400090741.

Indexed as

Dental CariesChild, PreschoolChinaCost-Benefit AnalysisHumansInfantOral HealthPrimary Health CareQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignRisk AssessmentChild protectionChinaDelivery of Health Care, IntegratedPAEDIATRICSPrimary Health CareRandomized Controlled Trial

Identifiers

PMID40754328
PMCPMC12320031

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.