Training clinicians helps reduce rates of early childhood cavities
September 29, 2009Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that pediatricians provided with the proper communication, educational and information technology tools and training could reduce the rates of children developing early childhood caries (ECC) or cavities by 77 percent. This study appears in the October issue of the Journal Medical Care.
ECC, the most common chronic illness among children, can lead to serious complications if untreated, including abscesses requiring costly surgery. Infection and pain caused by ECC can also impair growth, weight gain and limit school attendance.
BUSM researchers provided pediatric clinicians with communication skills training to help them more effectively counsel parents and caregivers to reduce children's ECC risk. Pediatricians as well as clinical nurses participated in a one hour study training session, and they were also provided with educational brochures to give to parents. The electronic medical record was also adapted to prompt clinicians to remember to counsel. After the educational program, a simultaneous recruitment of children affected with ECC was conducted at a comparison site, where the clinicians did not receive training.
Parents and caregivers of children aged six months to five years were asked to participate in a clinical exam and interview that consisted of a series of questions inquiring about the parent or caregiver's discussion with the child's doctor or nurse. This interview assessed the degree the clinician covered the topics on which they had been trained to counsel regarding ECC risk reduction. This process was repeated approximately one year later.
The findings show that providers at the intervention site had greater knowledge and conducted more counseling, and patients at that site had significantly reduced odds of developing ECC over time. "Pediatric clinicians at Boston Medical Center are committed to children's oral health, and to addressing the deficit in clinical preparation to help prevent ECC," explained lead author, Nancy R. Kressin, PhD, an associate professor of General Internal Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. "We developed and implemented a multi-faceted pediatric practice based intervention where children especially vulnerable to ECC received enhanced care to prevent this disease from occurring or reoccurring, and it had marked effects on reducing children's rates of developing ECC" said Kressin.
Source: Boston University
-
Children's asthma affected by parental expectations
Oct 06, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study finds fears of HIV transmission in families with infected parent
Nov 03, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study finds preemies more likely to score positive
Jan 29, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Researchers make bendable concrete
May 04, 2005 |
not rated yet |
0
-
End of life physician-patient communication
Jul 22, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV
A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...
3 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor
(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
4 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (56) |
15
|
Green tea found to reduce disability in the elderly
(Medical Xpress) -- A lot of research has been done over the past several years looking into the health benefits of green tea. As a result, scientists have found that regular consumption of the beverage leads ...
Teen school drop-outs three times as likely to be on benefits in later life
Teen school drop-outs are almost three times as likely to be on benefits in later life as their peers who complete their schooling, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Feb 06, 2012 |
not rated yet |
13
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome
In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...