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Oral health knowledge, behavior, and care seeking among pregnant and recently-delivered women in rural Nepal: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Oral health behavior and attitudes of pregnant women in low-income countries are rarely examined, yet should be considered when designing preventative or therapeutic studies to reduce burden of oral diseases. We aimed to understand dental care-seeking behavior, as well as oral health knowledge and attitudes of oral health among pregnant women in rural Nepal. METHODS:Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n?=?16) and focus group discussions (3 groups, n?=?23) were conducted among pregnant and recently-delivered women in Sarlahi, Nepal. Transcripts were translated from the local language to English then analyzed using a hybrid approach to thematic coding with Atlas.ti version 7. RESULTS:Women felt confident describing the signs and symptoms of tooth decay and gum disease, but were not knowledgeable about where to receive care for tooth and/or gum pain and relied heavily on the knowledge of their community. Some women used a toothbrush and toothpaste at least once a day to clean their teeth, but many reported the traditional use of a branch of a local shrub or tree as their teeth cleaning instrument. Women suggested a willingness to consider using an oral rinse throughout pregnancy, perceiving that it might have a positive impact on infant health. CONCLUSIONS:Future studies should focus on providing adequate and sustainable resources for pregnant women in Nepal and other low income settings to engage in good oral health behaviors (possibly supported through community-based workers), to maintain dental hygiene, and to access qualified dentists as a means of improving their oral health. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01177111 (Nepal Oil Massage Study) and NCT02788786 (Pilot Trial).

SUBMITTER: Lubon AJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5984796 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Oral health knowledge, behavior, and care seeking among pregnant and recently-delivered women in rural Nepal: a qualitative study.

Lubon A J AJ Erchick D J DJ Khatry S K SK LeClerq S C SC Agrawal N K NK Reynolds M A MA Katz J J Mullany L C LC

BMC oral health 20180601 1

<h4>Background</h4>Oral health behavior and attitudes of pregnant women in low-income countries are rarely examined, yet should be considered when designing preventative or therapeutic studies to reduce burden of oral diseases. We aimed to understand dental care-seeking behavior, as well as oral health knowledge and attitudes of oral health among pregnant women in rural Nepal.<h4>Methods</h4>Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 16) and focus group discussions (3 groups, n = 23) were conducte ...[more]

PMID: 29859084

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Project description:Commonly used paradigms for studying child psychopathology emphasize individual-level factors and often neglect the role of context in shaping risk and protective factors among children, families, and communities. To address this gap, we evaluated influences of ecocultural contextual factors on definitions, development of, and responses to child behavior problems and examined how contextual knowledge can inform culturally responsive interventions. We drew on Super and Harkness' "developmental niche" framework to evaluate the influences of physical and social settings, childcare customs and practices, and parental ethnotheories on the definitions, development of, and responses to child behavior problems in a community in rural Nepal. Data were collected between February and October 2014 through in-depth interviews with a purposive sampling strategy targeting parents (N = 10), teachers (N = 6), and community leaders (N = 8) familiar with child-rearing. Results were supplemented by focus group discussions with children (N = 9) and teachers (N = 8), pile-sort interviews with mothers (N = 8) of school-aged children, and direct observations in homes, schools, and community spaces. Behavior problems were largely defined in light of parents' socialization goals and role expectations for children. Certain physical settings and times were seen to carry greater risk for problematic behavior when children were unsupervised. Parents and other adults attempted to mitigate behavior problems by supervising them and their social interactions, providing for their physical needs, educating them, and through a shared verbal reminding strategy (samjhaune). The findings of our study illustrate the transactional nature of behavior problem development that involves context-specific goals, roles, and concerns that are likely to affect adults' interpretations and responses to children's behavior. Ultimately, employing a developmental niche framework will elucidate setting-specific risk and protective factors for culturally compelling intervention strategies.

Project description:South Asian studies, including those from Nepal, have documented increased risk of neonatal mortality among girls, despite their early biologic survival advantage. We examined sex differences in neonatal morbidity and care-seeking behavior to determine whether such differences could help explain previously observed excess late neonatal mortality among girls in Nepal.A secondary analysis of data from a trial of chlorhexidine use among neonates in rural Nepal was conducted. The objective was to examine sex differences in neonatal morbidity and care-seeking behavior for ill newborns. Girls were used as the reference group.Referral for care was higher during the early neonatal period (ENP: 0-7 days old) (50.7%) than the late neonatal period (LNP: 8-28 days old) (31.3%), but was comparable by sex. There were some significant differences in reasons for referral by sex. Boys were significantly more often referred for convulsions/stiffness, having yellow body/eyes, severe skin infection, and having at least two of the following: difficulty breathing, difficulty feeding, fever, or vomiting during the ENP. Girls were more often referred for hypothermia. During the LNP, boys were significantly more often referred for having yellow body/eyes, persistent watery stool, and severe skin infection. There were no referral types in the LNP for which girls were more often referred. Less than half of those referred at any point were taken for care (47.0%) and referred boys were more often taken than girls (Neonatal Period OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.64 - 1.91). Family composition differentially impacted the relationship between care-seeking and sex. The greatest differences were in families with only prior living girls (Pahadi - ENP OR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.29 - 2.45 and LNP OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.03 - 2.21; Madeshi - ENP OR: 2.86, 95% CI: 2.28 - 3.59 and LNP OR: 2.45, 95% CI: 1.84 - 3.26).Care-seeking was inadequate for both sexes, but ill boys were consistently more often taken for care than girls, despite comparable referral. Behavioral interventions to improve care-seeking, especially in the early neonatal period, are needed to improve neonatal survival. Addressing gender bias in care-seeking, explicitly and within interventions, is essential to reducing neonatal mortality differentials between boys and girls.

Project description:ObjectivesAntiseptic oral rinses have been evaluated as interventions to reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with periodontal disease in pregnant women. Oral rinse use is not common in Nepal or other countries in South Asia, where the prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes is high. Understanding whether pregnant women in rural communities in this region would incorporate rinse use into their daily teeth cleaning routine is an important prerequisite to future research on this topic in South Asia.MethodsWe conducted a community-based pilot randomized controlled trial of three alcohol-free, antiseptic oral rinses among pregnant women <22 weeks pregnant in rural Nepal with the aim of assessing rinse acceptability, adherence, and effect on clinical periodontal measures. At baseline, participants underwent a clinical periodontal examination, and then were classified as healthy or having at least mild gingivitis (≥1 site with probing depth (PD) 3 mm and bleeding on probing (BOP) or ≥4 mm (PD)). Participants were stratified by periodontal status and randomized within each exposure category to chlorhexidine (CHX) (0.12%), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) (0.05%), salt and water (NaCl), or control (no rinse). Rinse participants were followed weekly for 12 weeks, and all participants underwent a second periodontal examination and answered a questionnaire.ResultsPregnant women in the rural Terai region of Nepal showed high adherence to (mean weekly rinse use: 185 mL (standard deviation: 66 mL)) a recommended 210 mL and acceptability of all three rinses. Participants reported greater frequency of tooth brushing with toothpaste and improvements in other recommended oral hygiene behaviours. CHX significantly reduced rates of gingivitis (defined as a participant with BOP ≥ 10% of sites) and the extent of BOP (gingivitis at the end of follow-up for CHX vs control: RR 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.84). CPC and NaCl rinse groups had rates of gingivitis and extent of BOP similar to the control group (gingivitis at the end of follow-up for CPC: RR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.47, 1.38; NaCl: RR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.55, 1.56).ConclusionsAdherence to and acceptability of three alcohol-free, antiseptic oral rinses were high among pregnant women in rural Nepal. Among participants with mild gingivitis at baseline, CHX rinse was most effective at reducing signs of disease compared to the control group. Oral rinse should be considered as a supplement to current oral self-care routines for pregnant women in settings where rinse use is uncommon and access to oral health services is limited.

Dataset Information

Oral health knowledge, behavior, and care seeking among pregnant and recently-delivered women in rural Nepal: a qualitative study.

Publications

Oral health knowledge, behavior, and care seeking among pregnant and recently-delivered women in rural Nepal: a qualitative study.

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