IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i8p907-d107962.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Maintaining Traditions: A Qualitative Study of Early Childhood Caries Risk and Protective Factors in an Indigenous Community

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Levin

    (School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94101, USA)

  • Karen Sokal-Gutierrez

    (School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Anita Hargrave

    (School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94101, USA)

  • Elizabeth Funsch

    (Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA)

  • Kristin S. Hoeft

    (Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA)

Abstract

In lower middle-income economies (LMIE), the nutrition transition from traditional diets to sugary foods and beverages has contributed to widespread early childhood dental caries. This qualitative study explores perceived risk and protective factors, and overall experiences of early childhood nutrition and oral health in indigenous Ecuadorian families participating in a community-based oral health and nutrition intervention. Dental exams of 698 children age 6 months through 6 years determined each child’s caries burden. A convenience sample of 18 “outlier” families was identified: low-caries children with ≤2 carious teeth vs. high-caries children with ≥10 carious teeth. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with parents/caregivers explored the child’s diet, dental habits, and family factors related to nutrition and oral health. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed using grounded theory. In the high-caries families, proximity to highway and stores, consumption of processed-food, and low parental monitoring of child behavior were identified as risk factors for ECC (early childhood caries). In the low-caries families, protective factors included harvesting and consuming food from the family farm, remote geography, and greater parental monitoring of child behavior. The study results suggest that maintaining traditional family farms and authoritative parenting to avoid processed foods/drinks and ensure tooth brushing could improve early childhood nutrition and oral health.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Levin & Karen Sokal-Gutierrez & Anita Hargrave & Elizabeth Funsch & Kristin S. Hoeft, 2017. "Maintaining Traditions: A Qualitative Study of Early Childhood Caries Risk and Protective Factors in an Indigenous Community," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-11, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:8:p:907-:d:107962
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/8/907/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/8/907/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Falbe, J. & Thompson, H.R. & Becker, C.M. & Rojas, N. & McCulloch, C.E. & Madsen, K.A., 2016. "Impact of the Berkeley excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 106(10), pages 1865-1871.
    2. McDade, Thomas W., 2001. "Lifestyle incongruity, social integration, and immune function in Samoan adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(10), pages 1351-1362, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brianna F. Poirier & Joanne Hedges & Lisa G. Smithers & Megan Moskos & Lisa M. Jamieson, 2022. "Child-, Family-, and Community-Level Facilitators for Promoting Oral Health Practices among Indigenous Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-19, January.
    2. Chloe Tsang & Karen Sokal-Gutierrez & Priya Patel & Brett Lewis & Debbie Huang & Kristina Ronsin & Ashmita Baral & Aparna Bhatta & Nehaa Khadka & Howard Barkan & Sidhanta Gurung, 2019. "Early Childhood Oral Health and Nutrition in Urban and Rural Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-11, July.
    3. Eleonor Vélez-León & Alberto Albaladejo & Katherine Cuenca-León & Magaly Jiménez-Romero & Ana Armas-Vega & María Melo, 2022. "Prevalence of Caries According to the ICDAS II in Children from 6 and 12 Years of Age from Southern Ecuadorian Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-10, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mendez Lopez, Ana & Loopstra, Rachel & McKee, Martin & Stuckler, David, 2017. "Is trade liberalisation a vector for the spread of sugar-sweetened beverages? A cross-national longitudinal analysis of 44 low- and middle-income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 21-27.
    2. Jakina Debnam, 2017. "Selection Effects and Heterogeneous Demand Responses to the Berkeley Soda Tax Vote," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1172-1187.
    3. Bonnet, Céline & Réquillart, Vincent, 2023. "The effects of taxation on the individual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    4. Michael Essman & Lindsey Smith Taillie & Tamryn Frank & Shu Wen Ng & Barry M Popkin & Elizabeth C Swart, 2021. "Taxed and untaxed beverage intake by South African young adults after a national sugar-sweetened beverage tax: A before-and-after study," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(5), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Neuhofer, Zachary & McFadden, Brandon R. & Rihn, Alicia & Wei, Xuan & Khachatryan, Hayk & House, Lisa, 2020. "Can the updated nutrition facts label decrease sugar-sweetened beverage consumption?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    6. Nano Barahona & Cristóbal Otero & Sebastián Otero, 2023. "Equilibrium Effects of Food Labeling Policies," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(3), pages 839-868, May.
    7. Ahmed Mohammed Alqarni, 2020. "Saudi Smokers' Behaviors After a 100% Tax Increase," International Journal of Marketing Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(1), pages 150-150, March.
    8. Le Bodo, Yann & Etilé, Fabrice & Julia, Chantal & Friant-Perrot, Marine & Breton, Eric & Lecocq, Sébastien & Boizot-Szantai, Christine & Bergeran, Céline & Jabot, Françoise, 2022. "Public health lessons from the French 2012 soda tax and insights on the modifications enacted in 2018," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(7), pages 585-591.
    9. Panter-Brick, Catherine & Eggerman, Mark, 2018. "The field of medical anthropology in Social Science & Medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 233-239.
    10. Sara Capacci & Olivier Allais & Celine Bonnet & Mario Mazzocchi, 2019. "The impact of the French soda tax on prices and purchases. An ex post evaluation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-22, October.
    11. Gonçalves, Judite & Pereira dos Santos, João, 2020. "Brown sugar, how come you taste so good? The impact of a soda tax on prices and consumption," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    12. Alyssa J. Moran & Yuxuan Gu & Sasha Clynes & Attia Goheer & Christina A. Roberto & Anne Palmer, 2020. "Associations between Governmental Policies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Supermarket Purchases and Individual, Retailer, and Community Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-23, October.
    13. Dogbe, W. & Gil, J.M., 2018. "Effects of a modified Danish fat tax on food consumption and nutrients intake in Spain," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277237, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Ben R Spoer & Jonathan H Cantor & Pasquale E Rummo & Brian D Elbel, 2018. "Food environment does not predict self-reported SSB consumption in New York City: A cross sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-9, October.
    15. David Pell & Tarra L Penney & Oliver Mytton & Adam Briggs & Steven Cummins & Mike Rayner & Harry Rutter & Peter Scarborough & Stephen J Sharp & Richard D Smith & Martin White & Jean Adams, 2020. "Anticipatory changes in British household purchases of soft drinks associated with the announcement of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy: A controlled interrupted time series analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-20, November.
    16. Xiang, Di & Zhan, Lue & Bordignon, Massimo, 2020. "A reconsideration of the sugar sweetened beverage tax in a household production model," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    17. Massimo Bordignon & Di Xiang & Lue Zhan, 2018. "Predicting the Effects of a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax in a Household Production Model," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def075, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    18. Yichen Zhong & Amy H. Auchincloss & Brian K. Lee & Ryan M. McKenna & Brent A. Langellier, 2020. "Sugar-Sweetened and Diet Beverage Consumption in Philadelphia One Year after the Beverage Tax," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-12, February.
    19. Payán, Denise D. & Lewis, LaVonna B. & Cousineau, Michael R. & Nichol, Michael B., 2017. "Advocacy coalitions involved in California's menu labeling policy debate: Exploring coalition structure, policy beliefs, resources, and strategies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 78-86.
    20. Knox, Melissa A. & Oddo, Vanessa M. & Walkinshaw, Lina Pinero & Jones-Smith, Jessica, 2020. "Is the public sweet on sugary beverages? Social desirability bias and sweetened beverage taxes," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:8:p:907-:d:107962. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.