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Oral health investigations of indigenous participants in remote settings: a methods paper describing the dental component of wave III of an Australian Aboriginal birth cohort study

Jamieson, Lisa M. and Sayers, Susan M. (2008). Oral health investigations of indigenous participants in remote settings: a methods paper describing the dental component of wave III of an Australian Aboriginal birth cohort study. BMC Oral Health,8:24-31.

Document type: Journal Article
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Title Oral health investigations of indigenous participants in remote settings: a methods paper describing the dental component of wave III of an Australian Aboriginal birth cohort study
Author Jamieson, Lisa M.
Sayers, Susan M.
Journal Name BMC Oral Health
Publication Date 2008
Volume Number 8
ISSN 1472-6831   (check CDU catalogue open catalogue search in new window)
Start Page 24
End Page 31
Total Pages 8
Place of Publication London, U.K.
Publisher BioMed Central Ltd.
Field of Research 1105 - Dentistry
HERDC Category C1 - Journal Article (DEST)
Abstract Background: A prospective Aboriginal Birth Cohort (ABC) study has been underway in Australia's Northern Territory since 1987. Inclusion of oral epidemiological information in a follow-up study required flexible and novel approaches with unconventional techniques. Documenting these procedures may be of value to researchers interested in including oral health components in remotely-located studies. The objectives are to compare and describe dental data collection methods in wave III of the ABC study with a more conventional oral health investigation.

Methods: The Australian National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH) was considered the 'conventional' study. Differences between this investigation and the dental component of the ABC study were assessed in terms of ethics, location, recruitment, consent, privacy, equipment, examination, clinical data collection and replication. In the ABC study, recording of clinical data by different voice recording techniques were described and assessed for ease-of-use portability, reliability, time-efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Results: Conventional investigation recruitment was by post and telephone. Participants self presented. Examinations took place in dental clinics, using customised dental chairs with standard dental lights attached. For all examinations, a dental assistant recorded dental data directly onto a laptop computer. By contrast, follow-up of ABC study participants involved a multi-phase protocol with reliance on locally-employed Indigenous advocates bringing participants to the examination point. Dental examinations occurred in settings ranging from health centre clinic rooms to improvised spaces outdoors. The dental chair was a lightweight, portable reclining camp chair and the dental light a fire-fighter's head torch with rechargeable batteries. The digital voice recorder was considered the most suitable instrument for clinical dental data collection in the ABC study in comparison with computer-based voice-recording software.

Conclusion: Oral health examinations among indigenous populations residing in predominantly remote locations are more logistically challenging than are surveys of the general population. However, lack of resources or conventional clinical infrastructures need not compromise the collection of dental data in such studies. Instead, there is a need to be flexible and creative in establishing culturally-sensitive environments with available resources, and to consider non-conventional approaches to data gathering.
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-8-24   (check subscription with CDU E-Gateway service for CDU Staff and Students  check subscription with CDU E-Gateway in new window)


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