Developing an Acceptability Assessment of Preventive Dental Treatments

Abstract

Objectives Early childhood caries (ECC) is very prevalent among young Hispanic children. ECC is amenable to a variety of preventive procedures, yet many Hispanic families underutilize dental services. Acceptability research may assist in health care planning and resource allocation by identifying patient preferences among efficacious treatments with the goal of improving their utilization. The purposes of this study were (a) to develop a culturally competent acceptability assessment instrument, directed toward the caregivers of young Hispanic children, for five preventive dental treatments for ECC and (b) to test the instrument's reliability and validity. Methods An instrument of five standard treatments known to prevent ECC was developed, translated, reviewed by focus groups, and pilot tested, then tested for reliability. The instrument included illustrated cards, brief video clips, and samples of the treatments and was culturally appropriate for low-income Hispanic caregivers. In addition to determining the acceptability of the five treatments individually, the treatments were also presented as paired comparisons. Results Focus groups and debriefing interviews following the pilot tests established that the instrument has good face validity. The illustrated cards, product samples, and video demonstrations of the five treatments resulted in an instrument possessing good content validity. The instrument has good to excellent test–retest reliability, with identical time 1–time 2 responses for each of the five treatments 92 percent of the time (range 87 to 97 percent), and the same treatment of the paired comparisons preferred 75 percent of the time (range 61 to 90 percent). Conclusions The acceptability instrument described is reliable and valid and may be useful in program planning efforts to identify and increase the utilization of preferred ECC preventive treatments for target populations.

Parental preference for fluoride varnish: a new concept in a rapidly developing nation

“…There have been very limited investigations addressing acceptability of preventive treatments for children. 26 This is lamentable, as previous research has shown that oral health care usage and outcomes are driven in part by community and cultural aspects that must be taken into consideration in the effort to improve children’s oral health. 34 – 36 Evans et al 37 proposed “the Happy Teeth fluoride varnish programme” in East London.…”

“…Wong et al 38 studied the attitudes of Chinese parents toward the oral health of their children with caries and found that parental lack of dental education, deficiency of social support in the pursuit of dental treatment, fear of sedation for dental procedures, and cultural belief that does not back the preservation of primary dentition were among the major barriers in the implementation of proper oral hygiene habits. 26 Chhabra and Chhabra 39 studied parental knowledge, attitudes, and cultural beliefs regarding oral health and dental care of preschool children in an Indian population. The authors concluded that the deficiency of awareness and knowledge, myths related to the dentist’s visit, and dental apprehension of parents were the most common obstacles to the prevention of dental caries in young children.…”

Caregiver acceptability and preferences for preventive dental treatments for young African‐American children

“…These findings add support for programs that emphasize early oral hygiene education for young children and families and may contribute to the development of future oral health promotion programs for African‐American families in low‐income settings. The assessment methodology (11) provides a solid basis on which acceptability for additional treatments can easily be adapted.…”

“…We utilized a modified interview‐based assessment of parental acceptability and preferences for ECC preventive treatments that had originally been developed for Hispanic children (11). To assure the cultural appropriateness of the instrument, we first conducted a focus group with African‐American families ( n = 7).…”

Parent Refusal of Topical Fluoride for Their Children

“…Although broad measures on the acceptability of preventive dental care for children exist 17 , none specifically focus on fluoride. The continuum model indicates the need for two types of measures, neither of which currently exist.…”