Preventive Dental Behavior of White American Families and the Health Belief Model

182 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1981.The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine the current status of preventive dental behavior of representative white American families, and (2) to test the appropriateness and sufficiency of the Health Belief Model and its applications to problems in understanding and predicting preventive dental behavior.Data were collected by a mail questionnaire sent to a sample of 1,000 families selected by a stratified sampling with quotas intended to be representative of the United States with respect to geography, population density, age of homemaker, annual family income, and family size. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information on two sets of variables: variables on preventive dental behavior (schedule and frequency of toothbrushing, frequency of dental flossing, and regularity and recency of preventive dental visits) and variables of the Health Belief Model (perception of susceptibility, perception of severity, perception of salience, perception of benefits, perception of barriers, and general motivation). Data on socio-demographic variables were also collected.The results from the data on the 685 white American families who returned the questionnaire showed that a rather large percentage of the family members did not follow strict toothbrushing schedules (34.3% of wives, 43.8% of husbands, and 51.9% of children) or visit dentists regularly (33.9% of wives, 47.2% of husbands, and 30.5% of children). In addition, daily flossing was practiced by only a minority of family members (20.0% of wives, 11.5% of husbands, and 6.4% of children). There was a significant increase in the proportion of people engaging in preventive dental behavior since 1974, and in contrast, almost no improvement was made from 1966 to 1974.A canonical correlation analysis indicated that preventive dental behavior was significantly related to socio-demographic characteristics for wives (r(,c) = .342), husbands (r(,c) = .345), and children (r(,c) = .341), separately. The dental visit (structure coefficients were .984 for wives, .929 for husbands, and .960 for children) was the most important factor of the dental activities that contributed to the correlation. Among the socio-demographic variables, family income and levels of education were the best predictors.The statistically significant step-down canonical correlation (r(,c) = .436, p = .00001) between the perceptions and preventive dental behavior provided support for the Health Belief Model. The dental visit, as opposed to toothbrushing and dental flossing, had the highest level of predictability with structure coefficient of .936. Perception of salience, benefits, and barriers were more powerful predictors (structure coefficients. 721, .428, and 757, respectively). These findings suggest the need for dental and health professionals to devote more effort to changing those perceptions that are better predictors of preventive dental behavior, with the most probable result being attributable to changes in the frequency of dental visits rather than to changes in toothbrushing or flossing habits. However, the correlation accounted for less than 20% of the variance of preventive dental behavior. This finding indicates that the perception is only one of the many factors that directly or indirectly affect the likelihood of taking preventive dental behavior. In other words, although the Health Belief Model may be appropriate and useful in predicting preventive dental behavior, it should be applied with caution.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Employee and union inputs into occupational health and safety measures in Chinese factories

Few studies have addressed the impact of employees' inputs on the protection of their health and safety. The research presented in this paper focuses on Chinese factories and measures employees' evaluation of the effectiveness in OHS issues of their enterprise trade union and staff and workers' representative congress (SWRC). The data for the study draws upon a national survey of employees of enterprises in manufacturing industry conducted in 1997 by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. The study finds that the input of the trade union and SWRC does have a significant impact on the protection of the workers' occupational health and safety.Occupational health and safety Trade union Employee inputs China

Oral health and quality of life in New Zealand: A social perspective

This study addresses the social dimensions of oral health by relating oral quality of life (i.e. dental symptoms, perceived oral well-being and oral functioning) to oral health status. We propose a conceptual model which postulates that socioeconomic status, oral health behavior and oral health status each influence oral quality of life. Using data from the New Zealand National Oral Health Survey, we describe and analyze oral health status and oral quality of life among children aged 12-13 and adults aged 35-44 and 65-74. The study demonstrates the impact of oral health problems on the oral quality of life of children, middle-aged adults and older adults in New Zealand. The majority have experienced at least one dental symptom in the past year. Some of them perceive poor oral health and also dislike the way their teeth/dentures look. Various aspects of their social and physical functioning are adversely affected by oral health problems. The results of multiple regression analyses of oral quality of life demonstrate that perceived general health is a consistent predictor of quality of life. Furthermore, the adults' oral quality of life is positively related to asymptomatic dental visits and negatively related to symptomatic dental visits. Children's oral quality of life is positively related to more frequent brushing and flossing. Oral health status is closely associated with oral quality of life for both adults and children. Analyzing the New Zealand oral quality of life data and reviewing previous research findings using a conceptual model provide the possibility for a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of oral quality of life issues.oral health quality of life socioeconomic status oral health behavior

The relationship between American women's preventive dental behavior and dental health beliefs

The data collected from a national family dental survey on wives of white American families were used to examine the relationships between the wives' toothbrushing, flossing and preventive dental visits and their health beliefs. A statistically significant canonical correlation (rc = 0.436, P

Employee and Union Inputs into Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Chinese Factories

Few studies have addressed the impact of employees' inputs on the protection of their health and safety. The research presented in this paper focuses on Chinese factories and measures employees' evaluation of the effectiveness in OHS issues of their enterprise trade union and staff and workers' representative congress (SWRC). The data for the study draws upon a national survey of employees of enterprises in manufacturing industry conducted in 1997 by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. The study finds that the input of the trade union and SWRC does have a significant impact on the protection of the workers' occupational health and safety

Sociocultural correlates of childhood sporting activities: Their implications for heart health

The relative contribution of sex, ethnicity, social class, parental exercise and heart health knowledge to the variability of sporting activities reported by Texas 7th and 8th grade students in 1980 was examined to study the cultural patterns of exercise that might relate to future risk for heart disease. Girls were more likely than boys to participate in activities with high aerobic potential. Relative to Mexican-Americans and Blacks. Anglos were more likely to engage in individual, non-competitive, aerobic-type activities. Multivariate analysis showed heart knowledge, parental exercise, sex, father's occupation and ethnicity to be significantly related to the overall frequency of exercise. Parental exercise had a stronger influence on the frequency of excercise among girls than boys. These findings suggest possible cultural mechanisms in the epidemiology of heart disease.