Social science and dentistry最新文献

Objectives: In oral and other health research, participant literacy levels may impact the quality of data obtained through self-report (e.g., degree of data missingness). This study addressed whether computerized administration of a battery of psychosocial instruments used in an oral health disparities research protocol yielded more complete data than paper-and-pencil administration and aimed to determine the role of general literacy in differences in data missingness between administration types.

Design: Oral health data were obtained from 1,652 adolescent and adult participants who were administered a large questionnaire battery via either paper-and-pencil or tablet personal computer. Number of unanswered items for each participant was compared across administration mode. For a subset of 171 participants who were randomized to one of the administration modes, general literacy and satisfaction with the questionnaire experience also were assessed.

Results: Participants assigned to complete the oral health questionnaire battery via tablet PC were significantly more likely than those assigned to the paper-and-pencil condition to have missing data for at least one item (p < .001); however, for participants who had at least one missing item, paper-and-pencil administration was associated with a greater number of items missed than was tablet PC administration (p < .001). Across administration modes, participants with higher literacy level completed the questionnaire battery more rapidly than their lower literacy counterparts (p < .001). Participant satisfaction was similar for both modes of questionnaire administration (p ≥ .29).

Conclusions: These results suggest that a certain type of data missingness may be decreased through the use of a tablet computer for questionnaire administration.

Aim: This paper seeks to describe the social networks and support available to caregivers of young children, and their links to behavioural and clinical dimensions of children's oral health.

Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the third wave of a cohort of 612 child-caregiver pairs of the Detroit Dental Health Project (DDHP). Caregivers and their children came to a central location in Detroit where they completed interviewer-administered questionnaires, health and nutritional assessments, and received an oral examination. Caregiver's social networks were measured using the hierarchical mapping technique. Child's oral health measures included previous dental visits and untreated decay.

Results: Caregivers reported an average network size of approximately seven people, who on average were 37 years old. Ninety percent of members in the network lived within an hour's drive, and contact frequency occurred on average between once a week and daily. Caregivers reported receiving emotional support most frequently and money support least frequently. Caregivers with larger networks had a slightly higher probability of reporting frequent errand support. Child's age interacted with money support to predict whether or not the child had visited the dentist since the last DHHP visit and to predict the number of untreated decayed surfaces.

Conclusions: The association between network characteristics and types of social support appear to be limited. There are no main effects of caregiver social network characteristics or support type on child's oral health. Having no money support appears most influential on children's oral health depending on their age.