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Arora A, Rana K, Manohar N, Li L, Bhole S, Chimoriya R. Perceptions and Practices of Oral Health Care Professionals in Preventing and Managing Childhood Obesity. Nutrients 2022; 14:1809. [PMID: 35565777 DOI: 10.3390/nu14091809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to explore the perceptions of oral health care professionals (OHCPs) on childhood overweight and obesity screening and management in oral health settings in the Greater Sydney region in New South Wales, Australia. OHCPs involved in the Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids (HSHK) birth cohort study were purposively selected for this nested qualitative study. A sample of 15 OHCPs completed the face-to-face interviews, and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify and analyse the contextual patterns and themes. Three major themes emerged: (1) obesity prevention and management in dental practice; (2) barriers and enablers to obesity prevention and management in dental settings; and (3) the role of oral health professionals in promoting healthy weight status. This study found that OHCPs are well-positioned and supportive in undertaking obesity screening and management in their routine clinical practice. However, their practices are limited due to barriers such as time constraints, limited knowledge, and limited referral pathways. Strategies including capacity building of OHCPs, development of appropriate training programs and resources, and identification of a clear specialist referral pathway are needed to address the current barriers. This study provides an insight into opportunities for the oral health workforce in promoting healthy weight status among children.
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Poudel P, Griffiths R, Wong VW, Arora A, Flack JR, Khoo CL, George A. Perceptions and practices of general practitioners on providing oral health care to people with diabetes - a qualitative study. BMC Fam Pract 2020; 21:34. [PMID: 32054440 PMCID: PMC7020546 DOI: 10.1186/s12875-020-1102-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Background Poorly controlled diabetes leads to multiple complications including oral health problems. General practitioners (GPs) are at the forefront of management of chronic diseases in primary health care. Diabetes guidelines encourage a proactive role for GPs in oral health complications management in people with diabetes, yet little is known about this area of care. This study aimed to explore current practices, perceptions and barriers of GPs towards oral health care for people with diabetes. Methods We employed a qualitative research method utilising telephone interviews. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit 12 GPs from Greater Sydney region. A thematic analysis involving an inductive approach was used to identify and analyse contextual patterns and themes. Results A majority of participants were males (n = 10), working in group practices (n = 11) with a mean ± SD age of 55 ± 11.4 years and 25 ± 13.6 years work experience. Three major themes emerged: oral health care practices in general practice settings; barriers and enablers to oral health care; and role of diabetes care providers in promoting oral health. Most GPs acknowledged the importance of oral health care for people with diabetes, identifying their compromised immune capacity and greater risks of infections as risk factors. GPs reported 20–30% of their patients having oral health problems, however their current oral health care practices relating to education, risk assessment and referrals were reported as very limited. GPs identified several barriers including time constraints, absence of referral pathways, and limited knowledge and training in promoting oral health care. They also reported patient barriers including oral health care costs and lower oral health awareness. GPs perceived that resources such as education/training, a standardised assessment tool and patient education materials could support them in promoting oral health care. GPs also perceived that other diabetes care providers such as diabetes educators could play an important role in promoting oral health. Conclusions Despite current recommendations, GPs’ current oral health care practices among people with diabetes are limited. Further strategies including capacity building GPs by developing appropriate oral health training programs and simple risk assessment tools along with accessible referral pathways are needed to address the current barriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash Poudel
- Centre for Oral Health Outcomes and Research Translation (COHORT), Liverpool, New South Wales (NSW), 2170, Australia. .,School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia. .,South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia. .,Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.
| | - Rhonda Griffiths
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia
| | - Vincent W Wong
- South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.,Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.,Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Amit Arora
- School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University Campbelltown Campus, Campbelltown, NSW, 2751, Australia.,Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.,Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia.,Oral Health Services, Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Dental Hospital, NSW Health, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010, Australia
| | - Jeff R Flack
- South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.,Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia.,Diabetes Centre Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, Bankstown, NSW, 2200, Australia.,School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia
| | - Chee L Khoo
- Health focus Family Practice, Ingleburn, NSW, 2565, Australia
| | - Ajesh George
- Centre for Oral Health Outcomes and Research Translation (COHORT), Liverpool, New South Wales (NSW), 2170, Australia.,School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia.,South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.,Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia.,Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.,University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
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Zhu E, Fors U, Smedberg Å. Exploring the needs and possibilities of physicians' continuing professional development - An explorative qualitative study in a Chinese primary care context. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202635. [PMID: 30114295 PMCID: PMC6095581 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND One component of the 2009 Chinese health care reform plan is to train general practitioners to improve the delivery of primary care services. This continuing professional development is expected to further improve the physicians' competencies to be general practitioners in primary care. Augmented reality-a combination of virtual information and the real environment-may enhance general practitioners' continuing professional development by allowing their learning experiences to overlap with their workplace practice. OBJECTIVE To explore the needs, opportunities, and challenges involved in continuing professional development for Chinese physicians becoming competent general practitioners within primary care, with a special focus on the possibilities of applying augmented reality. METHODS This study used a qualitative approach with semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Two managers and thirteen physicians (from four community health centers and stations) participated. The data were analyzed using a thematic inductive analysis approach. RESULTS Based on our interviews, most of the physicians were not fully trained as general practitioners but still assumed the duties of that position; they were supposed to eventually become fully trained in line with the reforms of the Chinese primary care system. However, they reported a lack of in-service training opportunities to fulfill this goal. Even those who said that they had such opportunities perceived the efficacy of that training as being poor. The managers and most of the physicians reacted positively to the idea of using augmented reality in continuing professional development, and they suggested antibiotics treatment, surgery, and emergency care as learning areas in which augmented reality could be applied. CONCLUSIONS Due to the Chinese reforms of the primary care system, both managers and the physicians themselves expect general practitioners to become qualified by engaging in continuing professional development. Both groups also regarded augmented reality as a potentially useful tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Egui Zhu
- Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Uno Fors
- Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Åsa Smedberg
- Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Godderis L, Johannik K, Mylle G, Bulterys S, Moens G. Epidemiological and performance indicators for occupational health services: a feasibility study in Belgium. BMC Health Serv Res 2014; 14:410. [PMID: 25236590 PMCID: PMC4180330 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In many European countries, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) providers report their activities and results annually. Ideally, this report should offer an overview of their activities and of the outcome regarding occupational health and safety. To establish a set of epidemiological and performance indicators for electronic reporting of data that can be used for OHS surveillance and prevention purposes. Consequently, the selected data can serve as indicators for exposure to and prevention of occupational risks (epidemiology), and contribute to the evaluation of the functioning (performance) of OHS providers. Methods An extensive literature search in combination with an investigation of existing reporting models was performed. The resulting list of potential indicators was assessed by different stakeholders and divided into indicators for epidemiology and for performance. Then in a feasibility study, the relevance and availability of the indicators were assessed in 17 external, 49 internal (in company) and 10 mixed OHS providers. Results From the literature survey, we obtained 1100 indicators. After validation, 257 were taken into account in the feasibility study. An indicator was considered relevant when more than 2/3 of the respondents answered in favour of the indicator. The same criterion was applied for availability. Respectively, 82% and 62% of the performance and epidemiological indicators were considered to be relevant for external OHS providers. All relevant performance indicators were available. Of the epidemiological data, only 53% were available. Remarkably, internal OHS providers assessed fewer indicators as relevant (29% and 27% of performance and epidemiology indicators respectively), but these were mostly all available (90%). Conclusions This study shows that it is possible to provide a snapshot of the state of OHS by means of the registration of data. These findings could be used to build a data warehouse to study national health and safety profiles and to develop a uniform report for all European countries. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-410) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lode Godderis
- Groep IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, Interleuvenlaan 58, Heverlee 3001, Belgium.
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Carroll C, Booth A, Papaioannou D, Sutton A, Wong R. UK health-care professionals' experience of on-line learning techniques: a systematic review of qualitative data. J Contin Educ Health Prof 2009; 29:235-41. [PMID: 19998474 DOI: 10.1002/chp.20041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Continuing professional development and education is vital to the provision of better health services and outcomes. The aim of this study is to contribute to the evidence base by performing a systematic review of qualitative data from studies reporting health professionals' experience of e-learning. No such previous review has been published. METHOD A systematic review of qualitative data reporting UK health professionals' experiences of the ways in which on-line learning is delivered by higher education and other relevant institutions. Evidence synthesis was performed with the use of thematic analysis grounded in the data. RESULTS Literature searches identified 19 relevant studies. The subjects of the studies were nurses, midwives, and allied professions (8 studies), general practitioners and hospital doctors (6 studies), and a range of different health practitioners (5 studies). The majority of courses were stand-alone continuing professional development modules. Five key themes emerged from the data: peer communication, flexibility, support, knowledge validation, and course presentation and design. DISCUSSION The effectiveness of on-line learning is mediated by the learning experience. If they are to enhance health professionals' experience of e-learning, courses need to address presentation and course design; they must be flexible, offer mechanisms for both support and rapid assessment, and develop effective and efficient means of communication, especially among the students themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Carroll
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DA, UK.
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