A collaboration with local Aboriginal communities in 
rural New South Wales, Australia to determine the 
oral health needs of their children and develop a 
community-owned oral health promotion program

Dimitropoulos, Yvonne; Gunasekera, Hasantha; Blinkhorn, Anthony; Byun, Roy; Binge, Norma; Gwynne, Kylie; Irving, Michelle

doi:10.22605/rrh4453

Cited by 27 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Some studies with Australian Aboriginal communities revealed that the effectiveness of a health program is linked to how well the program adopts the community's cultural practices, knowledge, and involves community members to participate and lead the program. [50][51][52][53] These factors highlight the importance of the community to be directly involved with the development of the training program. In the context of the broader PAR program of research, the team will need to build the training program integrating the participants' suggested content and delivery, using the insights gained through these focus groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Got to build that trust”: Aboriginal Health Workers’ perspectives and experiences of maternal oral health

Kong

Sousa

Ramjan

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: In Australia, models of care have been developed to train antenatal care providers to promote oral health among pregnant women. However, these models are underpinned by Western values of maternity care that do not consider the need to ensure cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of Aboriginal Health Workers and Family Partnership Workers towards oral health care during pregnancy. It is part of a larger program of research to develop a new, culturally appropriate model of oral health care for Aboriginal pregnant women and new mothers.Methods: A participatory action research methodology informed the study. Focus groups were convened to yarn with Aboriginal Health Workers, Family Partnership Workers and Aboriginal management staff at two antenatal health services in Sydney, Australia. Results: A total of 14 people participated in the focus groups. There were four themes that were constructed. These focussed on the importance of trust to build relationships with clients, and the need to receive training to better address the oral health needs of Aboriginal pregnant women and new mothers. Further, the staff work in a system fundamentally driven by the legacy of colonisation and its subsequent effects of integenerational trauma on Aboriginal people and communities. This has significantly contributed to the systemic barriers Aboriginal continue to face in accessing health services, including dental care. The participants recommended that a priority dental referral pathway, that supported continuity of care, could provide increased accessibility to dental care for Aboriginal pregnant women and new mothers.Conclusions: There is the need for an individual and systems approach to promote oral health among Aboriginal pregnant women and new mothers. This approach should cultivate trust between Aboriginal women and both care providers and healthcare systems. A new model of care is needed that provides oral health training to Aboriginal Health Workers and addresses the systemic factors that create barriers to accessing dental care for Aboriginal women.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Got to build that trust”: Aboriginal Health Workers’ perspectives and experiences of maternal oral health

Kong

Sousa

Ramjan

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The second theme identi ed was socio-economic status This theme comprised economic status and social and cultural status of the Indigenous Australian population that poses many challenges in the utilization of oral health services. Financial concerns of the families [23,35], transportation problems [8,29] and living in remote areas [39] were among some of the economic challenges of oral health utilization. Cultural barriers included di culty in communication [36], language barriers [29] and low selfe ciency [34].…”

Section: Geographic Barriers In Accessing Oral Health Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in Oral Health Provision and Utilization in the Australian Indigenous Population: A Scoping Review

Bastani

Sarikhani

Ghanbarzadegan

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Oral health is a vital area of public health. Access to dental services are particularly important among Indigenous populations at a global level. This scoping review aimed to investigate challenges in the provision and utilization of oral health services among Indigenous Australians. The findings may be an important contribution to the literature and facilitate policymakers in reducing inequities in dental service access and utilisation among this vulnerable population. Methods This scoping review was conducted up to June 10, 2020. Five main databases were searched, including PUBMED, SCOPUS, ISI Web of Science, EMBASE and PROQUEST. The main key words were: oral health, dental health, utilization, provision, access, Indigenous, Native, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Arksey and O’Malley`s protocol was applied, which comprises 5 steps of: (1) identifying the research question; (2) identifying relevant studies; (3) study selection; (4) charting the data and collating and; (5) summarising and reporting results. Thematic analysis was used to summarize and analyse the data applying MAX QDA10 software for qualitative data analysis. For a better understanding of the themes and subthemes, a thematic network was presented. Results Results show that there are six main themes and fourteen sub-themes affecting Indigenous Australians` utilization and provision of oral health services. Personal characteristics, Socio-economic status and challenges regarding access were that the main factors influencing utilization of oral health services. The findings suggest that challenges relating to public health, policymaking and service provision can affect Indigenous Australians provision to oral health services. Conclusion Benefits in Indigenous Australian access and utilization of oral health services may improve if policy makers at both national and local levels increase resourcing in this important public health sector. A deeper understanding of the social and cultural nuances driving Indigenous Australians’ reluctance to attend for dental care is crucial.

show abstract

“…In the focus group, RAOs raised concerns about water quality in many regional and remote settings, citing problems such as yellow bore water, high levels of lead in water and 'poisoned' water (such as contamination with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Katherine, Northern Territory (50) ). Previous research suggests that tap water is perceived as 'unhealthy' in some settings (51) , including due to a history of water quality problems (49) . RAOs explained that, when concerned about water taste or safety, many people avoid drinking tap water and buy bottled water or other beverages; when bottled water is the same price as SSB, people may opt for SSB.…”

Section: Factors Associated With Sugar-sweetened Beverage Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among Indigenous Australian children aged 0–3 years and association with sociodemographic, life circumstances and health factors

Thurber

Long

Salmon

et al. 2019

Public Health Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective:To explore beverage intake and associations between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and sociodemographic, life circumstances, health and well-being factors in a national cohort of Indigenous children.Design:We calculated prevalence ratios for any SSB consumption across exposures, using multilevel Poisson regression (robust variance), adjusted for age group and remoteness. A key informant focus group contextualised these exploratory findings.Setting:Diverse settings across Australia.Participants:Families of Indigenous children aged 0–3 years, in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children.Results:Half (50·7 %, n 473/933) of children had ever consumed SSB at survey, increasing from 29·3 % of 0–12-month-olds to 65·7 % of 18–36-month-olds. SSB consumption prevalence was significantly lower in urban and regional v. remote areas, and in families experiencing socio-economic advantage (area-level advantage, caregiver employed, financial security), better life circumstances (caregiver social support, limited exposure to stressors) and caregiver well-being (non-smoking, social and emotional well-being, physical health). SSB consumption prevalence was significantly lower among those engaged with health services (adequate health-service access, regular prenatal check-ups), except SSB consumption prevalence was higher among those who received home visits from an Aboriginal Health Worker compared with no home visits. Key informants highlighted the role of water quality/safety on SSB consumption.Conclusions:A substantial proportion of Indigenous children in this sample consumed SSB from an early age. Health provider information needs to be relevant to the context of families’ lives. Health system strategies must be paired with upstream strategies, such as holistic support programmes for families, reducing racism and improving water quality.

show abstract

A collaboration with local Aboriginal communities in rural New South Wales, Australia to determine the oral health needs of their children and develop a community-owned oral health promotion program

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

“Got to build that trust”: Aboriginal Health Workers’ perspectives and experiences of maternal oral health

“Got to build that trust”: Aboriginal Health Workers’ perspectives and experiences of maternal oral health

Challenges in Oral Health Provision and Utilization in the Australian Indigenous Population: A Scoping Review

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among Indigenous Australian children aged 0–3 years and association with sociodemographic, life circumstances and health factors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About