Health Literacy, Acculturation, and the Use of Preventive Oral Health Care by Somali Refugees Living in Massachusetts

Geltman, Paul L.; Adams, Jo; Penrose, Katherine; Cochran, Jennifer; Rybin, Denis; Doros, Gheorghe; Henshaw, Michelle; Paasche‐Orlow, Michael K.

doi:10.1007/s10903-013-9846-0

Cited by 43 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This, coupled with the inability of refugee parents to access their traditional oral hygiene practices for example miswak, and a perceived loss of control over their children's dietary intake, contributes to the worsening levels of disease over time. This has also been reported in adult Somali refugees in the United States (Geltman et al, 2013(Geltman et al, , 2014. This young and vulnerable population requires responsive and empathetic care that includes working with their parents, families and communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Refugee child oral health

et al. 2016

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The number of people forced to flee their homes and move around the world is increasing rapidly. Such refugee populations are not only more likely to have poor physical, mental and social health outcomes but also to experience difficulties accessing health services in their new country. In particular, children from refugee backgrounds are at increased risk of poor oral health which in time is associated with poor adult oral health and impacts on child health (e.g. growth and development) and well-being. To date, there is little evidence about the nature and extent of their oral health problems nor interventions to improve their oral health status. This article summarises the evidence surrounding the oral health status of children from refugee backgrounds. In addition, a systematic review of the international literature over the past 10 years is presented which identifies interventions to improve the oral health of these vulnerable paediatric populations. Based on this evidence, potential strategies available to dental service providers to optimise provision of responsive dental care are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Refugee child oral health

et al. 2016

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“…Acculturation has a huge impact on oral health status, behaviors, and access to care, 14,15,25 which explains the significant association of poor oral health practices and lower access with care in participants who moved to the United States 1 to 2 or 2 to 5 years ago. A systematic review by Gao and McGrath showed that the higher the acculturation, better are the oral health outcomes, including oral health condition, practices, and utilization of care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Oral Health Status, Practices, and Access to Care among War-Affected Refugees Living in San Antonio, Texas

et al. 2020

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Objectives Refugees encounter several health disparities including oral health problems.This study evaluated the self-reported oral health status, practices, and access to care of adult refugees living in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Materials and Methods Adult refugees (n = 207) who accessed services from two centers in San Antonio, completed this survey. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the relationship of the refugees’ demographics with oral health status, practices, and access to care. Results Oral pain in the previous 12 months was common among refugees having been reported by almost 58.9% of the survey participants; 43% reported pain as the reason for their last dental visit. Approximately half of the participants reported both the condition to their teeth and gums as being good: 42.5 and 54.6%, respectively. Most participants (84%) reported brushing their teeth one or two times a day, and around 78% reported they never smoked. Fifty-two percent reported needing dental care in the past 12 months, but not being able to receive it; while 45.9% reported not having dental insurance, 41.5% reported not having money to pay a dentist. Fifteen percent reported never visiting a dentist. Arabic speakers, moving to the United States more recently, and lower level of education were associated with a poor oral health status and practices (p < 0.05). Conclusion Refugees in this study encountered limited access to dental care. Their inability to seek dental care could affect their oral and general health, weaken efforts of preventing oral health diseases, and restrict their full inclusion into the community.

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“…Dental diseases and cranial stress markers in modern-day Somalis who were thought to have died in the first half of the 20 th century were investigated. A literature search in the PubMed database showed that only a very small number of studies have evaluated dental disease and hygiene conditions in Somalis [1][2][3][4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Status in Early Modern Somali People from their Skeletal Remains

Fujita¹

2014

IJA

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This study discusses the paleohealth of Somali men who lived between the end of the 19 th century and the early 20 th century and whose skeletal remains are stored at the University of Cambridge. These materials were divided into an early middle age group and a late middle age group based on the degree of cranial suture closure. Physical anthropological methods were used to examine their caries, periodontal disease antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), dental attrition level, alveolar bone loss, enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, and cranial porotic hyperostosis. There were limitations, such as the small number of individuals examined, all the individuals were men, and the postcranial skeletons were not examinable. This study observed the following findings regarding the paleohealth of Somalis from the end of the 19 th century to the early 20 th century: (1) the caries rate was low, (2) there was onset of periodontal disease and it progressed with aging, (3) the number of missing teeth was low, (4) the dental attrition level was lower than the level in Nigerians, and (5) there was minimal change in stress markers with aging, and only a small number of individuals exhibited severe stress markers. The results led to the speculation that the nutritional status was generally poor in Somali individuals examined in this study and that the mortality rates were high in newborns, infants, and young children, which resulted in deaths in individuals with severe stress markers before adulthood.

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Health Literacy, Acculturation, and the Use of Preventive Oral Health Care by Somali Refugees Living in Massachusetts

Cited by 43 publications

References 32 publications

Refugee child oral health

Refugee child oral health

Assessing Oral Health Status, Practices, and Access to Care among War-Affected Refugees Living in San Antonio, Texas

Health Status in Early Modern Somali People from their Skeletal Remains

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