Community-based population-level interventions for promoting child oral health,

No abstract

Maternal and Child Health Services (MCHS) provide ideal settings for oral disease prevention. In Victoria (Australia), child mouth-checks (Lift-the-Lip) and oral health promotion (OHP) occur during MCHS child visits. This study trialled Tooth-Packs (OHP resources, toothbrushes, toothpastes) distribution within MCHS to (i) assess the impacts of Tooth-Packs distribution on child and family oral health (OH) behaviours and knowledge, including Maternal and Child Health Nurses (MCHN) child referral practices to dental services, and (ii) determine the feasibility and acceptability of incorporating Tooth-Packs distribution into MCHN OHP practices. A mixed-methods evaluation design was employed. MCHN from four high-needs Victorian Local Government Areas distributed Tooth-Packs to families of children attending 18-month and/or 24-month MCHS visits (baseline). Families completed a questionnaire on OH and dietary practices at baseline and 30-month follow-up. Tooth-Packs distribution, Lift-the-lip mouth-checks and child OH referrals were conducted. Guided discussions with MCHN examined intervention feasibility. Overall, 1585 families received Tooth-Packs. Lift-the-lip was conducted on 1493 children (94.1%). Early childhood caries were identified in 142 children (9.5%) and these children were referred to dental services. Baseline to follow-up behavioural improvements (n = 230) included: increased odds of children having ever seen an OH professional (OR 28.0; 95% CI 7.40–236.88; p < 0.001), parent assisted toothbrushing twice/day (OR 1.76; 95% CI 1.05–3.00; p = 0.030) and toothpaste use >once/day (OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.59–5.24; p < 0.001). MCHN recommendations included distribution of Tooth-Packs to at-risk children <12-months of age. MCHS provide an ideal setting to enable timely family-centred OHP intervention and adoption of good OH behaviours at an early age.

No abstract

Reproductive health research and policies in Cambodia focus on safe motherhood programs particularly for married women, ignoring comprehensive fertility regulation programs for unmarried migrant women of reproductive age. Maternal mortality risks arising due to unsafe abortion methods practiced by unmarried Cambodian women, across the Thai-Cambodia border, can be considered as a public health emergency. Since Thailand has restrictive abortion laws, Cambodian migrant women who have irregular migration status in Thailand experimented with unsafe abortion methods that allowed them to terminate their pregnancies surreptitiously. Unmarried migrant women choose abortion as a preferred birth control method seeking repeat "unsafe" abortions instead of preventing conception. Drawing on the data collected through surveys, in-depth interviews, and document analysis in Chup Commune (pseudonym), Phnom Penh, and Bangkok, the authors describe the public health dimensions of maternal mortality risks faced by unmarried Cambodian migrant women due to various unsafe abortion methods employed as birth control methods.