Background: Multiple guidelines and systematic reviews recommend sealant use to reduce caries risk. Yet, multiple reports also indicate that sealants are significantly underutilized. This study examined the knowledge, opinions, values, and practice (KOVP) of dentists concerning sealant use in the southwest region of Andalusia, Spain. This is a prelude to the generation of a regional plan for improving children's oral health in Andalusia.
Methods: The survey's target population was dentists working in western Andalusia, equally distributed in the provinces of Seville, Cadiz, and Huelva (N=2,047). A convenience sample of meeting participants and meeting participant email lists (N=400) were solicited from the annual course on Community and Pediatric Dentistry. This course is required for all public health sector dentists, and is open to all private sector dentists. Information on the dentist's KOVP of sealants was collected using four-part questionnaire with 31, 5-point Likert-scaled questions.
Results: The survey population demographics included 190 men (48%) and 206 women (52%) with an average clinical experience of 10.6 (±8.4) years and 9.3 (±7.5) years, respectively. A significant sex difference was observed in the distribution of place of work (urban/suburb) (p=0.001), but no sex differences between working sector (public/private). The mean±SD values for each of the four KOVP sections for pit and fissure sealants were: knowledge=3.57±0.47; opinion=2.48±0.47; value=2.74±0.52; and practice=3.48±0.50. No sex differences were found in KOVP (all p>0.4). Independent of sex: knowledge statistically differed by years of experience and place of work; opinion statistically differed by years of experience and sector; and practice statistically differed by years of experience and sector. Less experienced dentists tended to have slightly higher scores (~0.25 on a Likert 1-5 scale). Statistically significant correlations were found between knowledge and practice (r=0.44, p=0.00) and between opinion and value (r=0.35, p=0.00).
Conclusions: The results suggest that, similar to other countries, Andalusian dentists know that sealants are effective, have neutral to positive attitudes toward sealants; though, based on epidemiological studies, underuse sealants. Therefore, methods other than classical behavior change (eg: financial or legal mechanisms) will be required to change practice patterns aimed at improving children's oral health.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3584843 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-13-12 | DOI Listing |
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Background: Digital health interventions have emerged as promising tools to promote health behavior change and improve health outcomes. However, a comprehensive synthesis of strategies contributing to these interventions is lacking.
Objective: This study aims to (1) identify and categorize the strategies used in digital health interventions over the past 25 years; (2) explore the differences and changes in these strategies across time periods, countries, populations, delivery methods, and senders; and (3) serve as a valuable reference for future researchers and practitioners to improve the effectiveness of digital health interventions.
JMIR Public Health Surveill
January 2025
Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Background: The effects of physical activity (PA) across different domains and intensities on depressive symptoms remain inconclusive. Incorporating the community-built environment (CBE) into longitudinal analyses of PA's impact on depressive symptoms is crucial.
Objective: This study aims to examine the effects of PA at different intensities-low-intensity PA (eg, walking activities) and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA (eg, activities requiring substantial effort and causing faster breathing or shortness of breath)-across leisure-time and occupational domains on depressive symptom trajectories among middle-aged and older adults.
Games Health J
January 2025
Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal.
Due to the exponential growth in technology, exergames emerged as a potential tool to foster physical activity (PA) levels. This study provides an overall view of the literature on the effects of exergaming on physical fitness components among overweight and obese children and adolescents. A systematic review and meta-analysis following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Importance: The open-label randomized phase 2 LACOG0415 trial evaluated 3 treatment strategies for patients with advanced castration-sensitive prostate cancer (CSPC): androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plus abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP), apalutamide (APA) alone, or APA plus AAP.
Objective: To investigate the association of ADT plus AAP, APA alone, or APA plus AAP with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with advanced CSPC in the LACOG0415 trial.
Design, Setting, And Participants: The LACOG0415 randomized clinical trial comprised 128 patients with advanced CSPC who were randomized (1:1:1) to 1 of 3 treatment arms from October 16, 2017, to April 23, 2019.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
Importance: Women who use heroin in sub-Saharan Africa face elevated HIV risk linked to structural vulnerability including frequent incarceration. However, little is known about the association between incarceration and drug use and HIV outcomes among women who use heroin in Africa.
Objective: To estimate associations between incarceration and adverse HIV-related and drug use-related outcomes among women who used heroin.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!