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Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals

Data from the WHO show that the oral health situation for children in the Balkan region of Europe is poor. This study aims to identify obstacles that prevent the implementation of an effective oral health program for children in the Balkan area. The study investigates the challenges that people enco...

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Autores principales: Karamehmedovic, Enes, Petersen, Poul Erik, Agdal, Maren L., Virtanen, Jorma I.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9868902/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36698449
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/froh.2022.1068384
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author Karamehmedovic, Enes
Petersen, Poul Erik
Agdal, Maren L.
Virtanen, Jorma I.
author_facet Karamehmedovic, Enes
Petersen, Poul Erik
Agdal, Maren L.
Virtanen, Jorma I.
author_sort Karamehmedovic, Enes
collection PubMed
description Data from the WHO show that the oral health situation for children in the Balkan region of Europe is poor. This study aims to identify obstacles that prevent the implementation of an effective oral health program for children in the Balkan area. The study investigates the challenges that people encounter in increasing awareness, attending to dental care, and complying with examinations. METHODS: This qualitative study targeted experts in preventive dentistry and oral health promotion in four countries in the Balkan region. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. Data were collected in 2021 using individual in-depth interviews with participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. The study applied the thematic analysis method. RESULTS: The experts reported four main challenges that hindered the implementation of a prevention program and regular patient attendance: (1) lack of knowledge, (2) the exclusion of oral health from overall health, (3) organization of services, and (4) skepticism of fluoride. The participants identified knowledge gaps among the general population, dental staff, and other health professionals regarding the prevention of oral diseases. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study may be used to promote and improve oral health among children in the identified areas and to benefit people in the region and elsewhere. This study sheds light on the existing barriers in a region where people lack information.
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spelling pubmed-98689022023-01-24 Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals Karamehmedovic, Enes Petersen, Poul Erik Agdal, Maren L. Virtanen, Jorma I. Front Oral Health Oral Health Data from the WHO show that the oral health situation for children in the Balkan region of Europe is poor. This study aims to identify obstacles that prevent the implementation of an effective oral health program for children in the Balkan area. The study investigates the challenges that people encounter in increasing awareness, attending to dental care, and complying with examinations. METHODS: This qualitative study targeted experts in preventive dentistry and oral health promotion in four countries in the Balkan region. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. Data were collected in 2021 using individual in-depth interviews with participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. The study applied the thematic analysis method. RESULTS: The experts reported four main challenges that hindered the implementation of a prevention program and regular patient attendance: (1) lack of knowledge, (2) the exclusion of oral health from overall health, (3) organization of services, and (4) skepticism of fluoride. The participants identified knowledge gaps among the general population, dental staff, and other health professionals regarding the prevention of oral diseases. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study may be used to promote and improve oral health among children in the identified areas and to benefit people in the region and elsewhere. This study sheds light on the existing barriers in a region where people lack information. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-01-09 /pmc/articles/PMC9868902/ /pubmed/36698449 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/froh.2022.1068384 Text en © 2023 Karamehmedovic, Petersen, Agdal and Virtanen. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Oral Health
Karamehmedovic, Enes
Petersen, Poul Erik
Agdal, Maren L.
Virtanen, Jorma I.
Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals
title Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals
title_full Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals
title_fullStr Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals
title_full_unstemmed Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals
title_short Improving oral health of children in four Balkan countries: A qualitative study among health professionals
title_sort improving oral health of children in four balkan countries: a qualitative study among health professionals
topic Oral Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9868902/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36698449
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/froh.2022.1068384
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