Judith Albino

Recruitment for Health Disparities Preventive Intervention Trials: The Early Childhood Caries Collaborating Centers

Background Four trials of interventions designed to prevent early childhood caries are using community-engagement strategies to improve recruitment of low-income, racial/ethnic minority participants. The trials are being implemented by 3 centers funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and known as the Early Childhood Caries Collaborating Centers (EC4): the Center for Native Oral Health Research at the University of Colorado, the Center to Address Disparities in Children’s Oral Health at the University of California San Francisco, and the Center for Research to Evaluate and Eliminate Dental Disparities at Boston University. Community Context The community contexts for the EC4 trials include urban public housing developments, Hispanic communities near the US–Mexican border, and rural American Indian reservations. These communities have a high prevalence of early childhood caries, suggesting the need for effective, culturally acceptable interventions. Methods Each center’s intervention(s) used community-based participatory research approaches, identified community partners, engaged the community through various means, and developed communication strategies to enhance recruitment. Outcome All 3 centers have completed recruitment. Each center implemented several new strategies and approaches to enhance recruitment efforts, such as introducing new communication techniques, using media such as radio and newspapers to spread awareness about the studies, and hosting community gatherings. Interpretation Using multiple strategies that build trust in the community, are sensitive to cultural norms, and are adaptable to the community environment can enhance recruitment in underserved communities.

Preventing Childhood Caries A Review of Recent Behavioral Research

The etiology of dental caries reflects a complex interplay of biochemical, microbial, genetic, social and physical environmental, and health-influencing behavioral factors. This review updates the literature on the efficacy of behavioral approaches to caries prevention for children up to 18 y of age. Included were studies of behavioral interventions implemented at individual, family, and community levels that assessed results in terms of reductions in caries increments. Only those reports published since 2011 were considered. Outcomes were variable, although motivational interviewing, which involves individuals in decisions about oral health within the context of their respective life circumstances, proved effective in 3 of 4 reported studies, and more definitive trials are underway. Recommendations for future research include examinations of the cost-effectiveness of interventions, as well as work focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying oral health behavior change and variables that may mediate or moderate responses to interventions.

The oral health of Indigenous children: A review of four nations

This review of the oral health of children in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA demonstrates that significant oral health inequalities exist in each nation. Despite traditionally low levels of disease in Indigenous communities, dental caries is now highly prevalent and of increased severity among Indigenous children in comparison to their non‐Indigenous counterparts. Early childhood caries is particularly prevalent. The high level of dental disease experience at an early age is associated with increased rates of general anaesthesia and greater risk of dental caries in later life. The rates and severity of dental caries experienced by young Indigenous children are even more alarming when we consider that dental caries is essentially a preventable disease. The success of specific preventive programmes is encouraging; these approaches should be further evaluated and implemented as part of broader health promotion programmes for Indigenous children and families in order to decrease current oral health disparities.

A Cluster-Randomized, Community-Based, Tribally Delivered Oral Health Promotion Trial in Navajo Head Start Children

The authors tested the effectiveness of a community-based, tribally delivered oral health promotion (OHP) intervention (INT) at reducing caries increment in Navajo children attending Head Start. In a 3-y cluster-randomized trial, we developed an OHP INT with Navajo input that was delivered by trained Navajo lay health workers to children attending 52 Navajo Head Start classrooms (26 INT, 26 usual care [UC]). The INT was designed as a highly personalized set of oral health–focused interactions (5 for children and 4 for parents), along with 4 fluoride varnish applications delivered in Head Start during academic years of 2011 to 2012 and 2012 to 2013. The authors evaluated INT impact on decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) increment compared with UC. Other outcomes included caries prevalence and caregiver oral health–related knowledge and behaviors. Modified intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were conducted. The authors enrolled 1,016 caregiver-child dyads. Baseline mean dmfs/caries prevalence equaled 19.9/86.5% for the INT group and 22.8/90.1% for the UC group, respectively. INT adherence was 53% (i.e., ≥3 child OHP events, ≥1 caregiver OHP events, and ≥3 fluoride varnish). After 3 y, dmfs increased in both groups (+12.9 INT vs. +10.8 UC; P = 0.216), as did caries prevalence (86.5% to 96.6% INT vs. 90.1% to 98.2% UC; P = 0.808) in a modified intention-to-treat analysis of 897 caregiver-child dyads receiving 1 y of INT. Caregiver oral health knowledge scores improved in both groups (75.1% to 81.2% INT vs. 73.6% to 79.5% UC; P = 0.369). Caregiver oral health behavior scores improved more rapidly in the INT group versus the UC group (P = 0.006). The dmfs increment was smaller among adherent INT children (+8.9) than among UC children (+10.8; P = 0.028) in a per-protocol analysis. In conclusion, the severity of dental disease in Navajo Head Start children is extreme and difficult to improve. The authors argue that successful approaches to prevention may require even more highly personalized approaches shaped by cultural perspectives and attentive to the social determinants of oral health (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01116739).

Oral health status in Navajo Nation Head Start children

OBJECTIVE This study assessed oral health status for preschool-aged children in the Navajo Nation to obtain data on baseline decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) and dental caries patterns, describe sociodemographic correlates of childrens baseline dmfs measures, and compare the childrens dmfs measures with previous dental survey data for the Navajo Nation from the Indian Health Service and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS The analyzed study sample included 981 child/caregiver dyads residing in the Navajo Nation who completed baseline dmfs assessments for an ongoing randomized clinical trial involving Navajo Nation Head Start Centers. Calibrated dental hygienists collected baseline dmfs data from child participants ages 3-5 years (488 males and 493 females), and caregivers completed a basic research factors questionnaire. RESULTS Mean dmfs for the study population was 21.33 (SD=19.99) and not appreciably different from the 1999 Indian Health Service survey of Navajo Nation preschool-aged children (mean=19.02, SD=16.59, P=0.08). However, only 69.5 percent of children in the current study had untreated decay compared with 82.9 percent in the 1999 Indian Health Service survey (P<0.0001). Study results were considerably higher than the 16.0 percent reported for 2-4-year-old children in the whites-only group from the 1999-2004 NHANES data. Age had the strongest association with dmfs, followed by child gender, then caregiver income and education. CONCLUSION Dental caries in preschool-aged Navajo children is extremely high compared with other US population segments, and dmfs has not appreciably changed for more than a decade.

Preventing caries in preschoolers: Successful initiation of an innovative community-based clinical trial in Navajo Nation Head Start ☆

UNLABELLED Navajo Nation children have the greatest prevalence of early childhood caries in the United States. This protocol describes an innovative combination of community-based participatory research and clinical trial methods to rigorously test a lay native Community Oral Health Specialists-delivered oral health intervention, with the goal of reducing the progression of disease and improving family knowledge and behaviors. METHODS/DESIGN This cluster-randomized trial designed by researchers at the Center for Native Oral Health Research at the University of Colorado in conjunction with members of the Navajo Nation community compares outcomes between the manualized 2-year oral health fluoride varnish-oral health promotion intervention and usual care in the community (child-caregiver dyads from 26 Head Start classrooms in each study arm; total of 1016 dyads). Outcome assessment includes annual dental screening and an annual caregiver survey of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors; collection of cost data will support cost-benefit analyses. DISCUSSION The study protocol meets all standards required of randomized clinical trials. Aligned with principles of community-based participatory research, extended interaction between members of the Navajo community and researchers preceded study initiation, and collaboration between project staff and a wide variety of community members informed the study design and implementation. We believe that the benefits of adding CBPR methods to those of randomized clinical studies outweigh the barriers and constraints, especially in studies of health disparities and in challenging settings. When done well, this innovative mix of methods will increase the likelihood of valid results that communities can use.

Motivational interviewing with American Indian mothers to prevent early childhood caries: study design and methodology of a randomized control trial

BackgroundThis randomized control trial assesses the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) to encourage behavior change in new mothers relating to caries prevention when caring for their newborn American Indian (AI) infants and young AI children.Methods/DesignThe study is a randomized control trial. We hypothesize that when motivational interviewing is added to enhanced community oral health education services, the new mothers will achieve greater reduction of caries experience in their AI children compared to those who are receiving enhanced community services (ECS) alone. Six hundred mothers or caregivers of AI newborns will be enrolled into the study and randomized to one of the two intervention groups over a two-year period. The children will be followed until the child’s third birthday. A cost analysis of the study is being conducted in tandem with the enhanced community services, motivational interviewing behavioral interventions, and the dental screenings for the length of the study.DiscussionThe trial is now in the implementation phase and a number of threats to successful completion, such as recruitment and retention challenges in a vast, rural geographic area, have been addressed. The protocol provides a unique model for oral health interventions using principles of community-based participatory research and is currently on schedule to meet study objectives. If the study is successful, motivational interviewing intervention can be applied in AI communities to reduce ECC disparities in this disadvantaged population, with study of further applicability in other populations and settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov,NCT01116726.

Learning from caries‐free children in a high‐caries American Indian population

OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify salutogenic patterns of parental knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs that may support resistance to early childhood caries (ECC) among a high caries population of preschool American Indian (AI) children. METHOD Participants were 981 child-parent dyads living on a Southwestern reservation who completed baseline assessments for an ongoing randomized clinical trial. T-tests were used to assess differences between reported knowledge, behaviors, and beliefs of parents whose children were caries-free (10.7 percent) and those whose children had caries (89.3 percent). Chi-square analyses were used for categorical variables. RESULTS Although there were no socio-demographic differences, parents of caries-free children viewed oral health as more important and reported more oral health knowledge and adherence to caries-preventing behaviors for their children. Parents of caries-free children were more likely to have higher internal locus of control, to perceive their children as less susceptible to caries, and to perceive fewer barriers to prevention. These parents also had higher sense of coherence scores and reported lower levels of personal distress and community-related stress. CONCLUSIONS Effective interventions for ECC prevention in high-caries AI populations may benefit from approaches that support and model naturally salutogenic behaviors.

The basic research factors questionnaire for studying early childhood caries

BackgroundWe describe development of the Early Childhood Caries (ECC) Basic Research Factors Questionnaire (BRFQ), a battery of measures assessing common potential predictors, mediators, and moderators of ECC. Individual-, family-, and community-level factors that are linked to oral health outcomes across at-risk populations are included. Developing standard measures of factors implicated in ECC has the potential to enhance our ability to understand mechanisms underlying successful prevention and to develop more effective interventions.MethodsThe Early Childhood Caries Collaborating Centers (EC4), funded by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, developed the BRFQ, which was used across four randomized trials to develop and test interventions for reducing ECC in at-risk populations. Forty-five investigators from across the centers and NIDCR were involved in the development process. Eight “measures working groups” identified relevant constructs and effective measurement approaches, which were then categorized as “essential” or “optional” common data elements (CDEs) for the EC4 projects.ResultsEssential CDEs include 88 items, with an additional 177 measures categorized as optional CDEs. Essential CDEs fell under the following domains: oral health knowledge, oral health behavior, utilization/insurance and cost, parent/caregiver dental self-efficacy, quality of life, caregiver and family characteristics, and child characteristics.ConclusionsThe BRFQ makes available a battery of measures that support efforts to understand population risk factors for ECC and to compare oral health outcomes across populations at risk. The BRFQ development process may be useful to other clinical research networks and consortia developing CDEs in other health research fields.Trial registrationAll the trial that used the BRFQ were registered at Clinicaltrial.gov NCT01116726, April 29, 2010; NCT01116739, May 3, 2010; NCT01129440, May 21, 2010; and NCT01205971, September 19, 2010.

Preventing Caries in American Indian Children: Lost Battle or New Hope?

Knowledge Transfer Statement: Preventing early childhood caries in American Indian children has proved to be an unexpectedly challenging goal. Biological and behavioral variables, as well as parental psychosocial characteristics and experiences, suggest new routes for understanding and mitigating the progress of disease. We provide our reflections after a decade of studying these issues in collaboration with tribal communities.