4 results
2 - Measuring child oral health and its influences
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- By S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide, A Ellershaw, University of Adelaide, L Luzzi, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, LG Do, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
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- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 15-34
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Summary
Study population and sampling
The target population for the Survey was Australian children aged 5–14 years. To draw a representative sample of children from this target population a stratified two-stage sample design was implemented within each state/territory. In the first stage, schools were selected from a sampling frame of schools located within each jurisdiction. In the second stage, children were sampled from each selected school.
The sampling strategy was designed to derive accurate population estimates of the oral health of Australian children, and to make valid comparisons between the oral health of children across regions within each state. For New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, the geographical regions were based on Area Health Services/Health Districts, while in the remaining jurisdictions they were based on Capital City/Rest of State. As a consequence, the sampling methodology differed slightly for each jurisdiction.
To sample children across the age range of 5–14 years both primary and secondary schools were in scope of the Survey. A sampling frame of schools was created from a list provided by each jurisdiction which included all public, catholic and independent primary and secondary schools. Information provided on the sampling frame for each school included school code, school name and address, school type, school enrolment and health district.
Schools were excluded from the sampling frame if they were:
• located in very remote locations that would be difficult to access by the mobile dental clinic van
• special schools
• small school enrolment (usually <50 students).
New South Wales
In New South Wales (NSW), there were 2,995 schools that were considered in scope with 2,087 primary only, 567 secondary only and 341 combined primary/secondary schools. Schools on the sampling frame were stratified into 15 regions based on NSW Local Health Districts (LHD). The number of primary and secondary schools selected from each LHD was determined by the region's percentage share of total school enrolment. For primary schools, enrolment was defined as children enrolled in year levels Kindergarten to Year 6. For secondary schools, enrolment was defined as children enrolled in year levels 7–9.
4 - Measuring representativeness of the study participants
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- By L Luzzi, University of Adelaide, DH Ha, University of Adelaide, A Ellershaw, University of Adelaide, C Koster, University of Adelaide, DS Brennan, University of Adelaide, S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
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- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 48-85
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Summary
This Survey gathered information from a representative sample of the Australian child population aged 5–14 years to describe the oral health status of the population and factors related to use of dental services and dental behaviours, as well as associated individual, family, and community factors such as the sociodemographic characteristics of the child's household.
Surveys provide a means of measuring a population's characteristics, self-reported and observed behaviour, and needs. Unlike a census, where all members of a population are studied, sample surveys gather information from only a portion of a population of interest. In a statistically valid survey, the sample is objectively chosen so that each member of the population will have a known non-zero chance of selection. Only then can the results be reliably projected from the sample to the population.
Surveys, however, are not exempt of errors (or bias), which can occur when some segments of the population do not participate in the survey. As not all Australian children were included in this Survey, there is potential that the sample does not accurately represent the population of interest.
Errors due to sampling depend on the sample selection strategy and can be measured statistically. Variability inherent to the sampling process is expressed using the 95% confidence interval. On the other hand, non-sampling error or bias is more problematic because it is more difficult to measure and control. Bias due to non-participation occurs when the participants differ from the non-participants or the targeted population in one or more characteristics. The potential for bias due to non-participation or non-response can be explored by examining key sociodemographic characteristics of the Survey sample, and comparing them with known characteristics of the target population.
As outlined in Chapter 3, this Survey employed rigorous sampling procedures to achieve a representative sample of the Australian child population aged 5–14 years. The procedures used to derive survey weights for this Survey reflect the standards of best practice for weighting complex survey data, and are procedures used by leading statistical agencies. Procedures used to derive survey weights ensure valid estimates and inferences of the target child population can be made. The methodologies employed in the Survey will minimise any potential bias, which will be assessed in this chapter.
11 - Trends in child oral health in Australia
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- By LG Do, University of Adelaide, L Luzzi, University of Adelaide, DH Ha, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide, JM Armfield, University of Adelaide, AJ Spencer, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 288-305
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Summary
Assessing time trend in health and health-related factors is important in monitoring population health and its determinants. The social and economic changes have been at a fast pace in recent times. However, the rate of change is not similar for every population subgroup. There were also different changes in policies and practices related to dental service delivery for children between states and territories. All these differences can have an effect on child oral health.
This chapter presents an analysis of trends between the current Survey and several existing surveys of child oral health in Australia. Australia's previous national survey among children, the National Oral Health Survey of Australia (NOHSA) was conducted in 1987–88. Dental caries experience was collected for samples of children across Australia. The National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH) 2004-06 collected dental fluorosis experience that allows for analysing time trend of fluorosis by year of birth (Slade et al. 2007).
The other available surveys are a series of the National Dental Telephone Interview Surveys (NDTIS) 1994–2013 and the Child Dental Health Surveys (CDHS) series. Dental service use by Australian children has been routinely collected in the NDTIS. The CDHS series collects administrative data on the oral health status of children attending school dental services in Australian states and territories. Therefore, those surveys covered just a proportion of the child population within each state/territory. This difference should be taken into account in interpreting results of this analysis. The CDHS data have been presented for age groups 6 years and 12 years. The presented data had been collected in Australia for the CDHS series from 1989 to 2010.
Two other oral epidemiological studies conducted among children attending school dental services were the Child Fluoride Study (CFS) Mark I 1992–93 and the Child Fluoride Study Mark II 2002–03. The CFS Mark I was conducted in Queensland and South Australia while the CFS Mark II was conducted in four states: Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Information on child oral health behaviours was collected.
Trends in oral health status
Trend in dental caries experience
Time trend in dental caries experience was assessed using the NOHSA 1987–88, the CDHS series and the NCOHS 2012–14.
7 - Australian children's oral health behaviours
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- By JM Armfield, University of Adelaide, S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide, KG Peres, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, AJ Spencer, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 178-211
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Summary
Patterns of toothbrushing practices
Brushing teeth with toothpaste is a widely adopted oral health behaviour in Australia (Slade et al. 2006). There is evidence that more than 90% of Australian children brush their teeth at least once a day (McLellan et al. 1999; Armfield & Spencer 2012) and that almost all children do so with a toothpaste containing fluoride (Armfield & Spencer 2012; Slade et al. 1995). Toothbrushes and fluoride toothpaste are readily available throughout the country and dental and other health authorities recommend brushing.
A great deal of evidence over a number of decades has found that regularly brushing children's teeth with fluoridated toothpaste reduces the risk of dental decay (Marinho et al. 2003a; Walsh et al. 2010). Toothbrushing not only removes plaque, which consists mostly of bacteria and is a risk factor for oral disease, but can be used to apply fluoride to the teeth via the application of toothpaste.
Australia's fluoride guidelines advise that brushing with fluoridated toothpaste commence from the age of 18 months (Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health 2012). Table 7-1 shows the percentages of children who indicated that they had commenced brushing their teeth before the age of 18 months, by both the child's current age and various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The data are based on the recollection of the reporting parent, so parents of older children were having to recall the age of first brushing from further in their past than were parents of younger children. Overall, just over one-third of children commenced brushing with toothpaste before 18 months of age. There was little variation in reported early brushing commencement by child age at the time of the study.
Children were more likely to brush with toothpaste prior to 18 months if their parents were Australian born (36.0%) compared to those with an overseas-born parent (30.3%). In addition, the percentage of children brushing early was higher for those children whose parents had vocational (37.1%) or tertiary education (35.5%) than for those whose parents had no schooling beyond high school (29.2%). There was an income gradient in early-child toothbrushing. The lowest percentage was shown for children from the lowest household incomes (28.7%), followed by children from a medium household income (35.6%), with the highest percentage for children from families with a high household income (38.3%).
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