Impact of oral health on Australian urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background The oral health of a child not only impacts the physical well-being of the child, but can have quality of life implications for parents and families as they endeavour to provide care and support their child’s oral health needs. Within Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are thought to experience a disproportionate burden of poor oral heath compared to non-Indigenous children. Despite the prevalence of oral health challenges, there are limited qualitative studies investigating the oral health experiences of families. The objective of the study was to explore ‘from the perspective of urban, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and carers’ the impact child oral health has on families. Methods Yarning circles and face-to-face interviews were used to document the experiences of ( N = 20) parents of urban, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Participants were recruited from an Aboriginal-owned and operated primary health clinic in northern Brisbane, Australia and through word of mouth. Information collected was transcribed and analysed thematically. Codes and themes were confirmed by the researcher and two participants. Results The findings indicate that oral health is an important issue for urban Indigenous families and maintaining oral health to a desired standard is having emotional, physical and financial impacts. Themes identified were financial concerns, worry about the future and juggling multiple priorities, all of which were inter-related and cyclical. Conclusions Families in this study have demonstrated that with the current policy arrangements, oral health is impacting their quality of life, contributing to stress, financial challenges and at times affecting their physical health. To address these challenges, oral health education and promotion needs a multidisciplinary approach that reaches families before children are school-aged.

Maternal perception of the impact of anterior caries and its treatment on children: A qualitative study

“…In this study, mothers reported feeling guilty, possibly blaming themselves for the problems caused by caries to their children. This reinforces previous qualitative study which showed that child oral health can impact their family's quality of life, contributing to stress, financial challenges, and at times affecting their physical health . It has been shown that cavitated lesions can make parents upset and feeling guilty about the condition of their children .…”

“…This is one of the few studies 14,15 to conduct a qualitative assessment showing the wide-ranging impacts of dental caries in children and their families. The mothers interviewed in this study reported that the presence of caries on anterior teeth had direct consequences in children's and family's everyday life.…”

Yarning about oral health: perceptions of urban Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women

“…Senior members of the community indicated that oral health ought to be researched as well because there were limited data available on the oral health of urban Indigenous families, and the community was unable to effectively advocate for additional oral health resources. In conjunction with the respiratory study, a quantitative oral health study investigating the prevalence of caries and the associated risk factors was undertaken, and the results published [22][23][24][25]. Additionally, a qualitative study was proposed to provide a voice to the participants and assist in understanding the impact child oral health was having on families.…”

“…The study utilised PAR principles and in collaboration with the researcher, two participants took part in coding and theming the data to answer the research question. The results were published [25]. However, in addition to the data relevant to the research question, participants also contributed data which was deemed unrelated (as determined by the participants and researcher) to the initial research question, but valuable to the participants and their narrative.…”

“…Women of all ages were eligible for the study if they were or had been the parent or carer of an Indigenous child under the age of five. Purposive sampling was used and participants were recruited from the previous respiratory and oral health studies [22][23][24][25] and through word-ofmouth at the Aboriginal-owned and operated primary health care clinic. Two researchers undertook recruitment.…”