Objective. To compare psychosocial outcomes in head and neck (H&N) cancer patients receiving the Nucare program with a group of matched control subjects who received no intervention. / Methods. A prospective, non-randomized study design was used. Subjects were H&N cancer patients. The Nucare program, a psycho-educational coping strategies intervention, was the test intervention. Control subjects were matched to test subjects by disease stage and time since cancer therapy. Outcomes were quality of life (QL) and depressive symptoms (DS) evaluated at baseline and 3-4 months later. / Results. 138 subjects were recruited and outcome data was available on 101. At outcome evaluation, compared to their baseline scores, the test group had improved physical and social functioning, global QL, fatigue, sleep disturbance and DS, while the control group showed no changes in QL or DS. / Conclusion. The results suggest the Nucare may improve QL and reduce DS in H&N cancer patients.

Understanding culturally related health values and identifying ethnically specific health seeking pathways can help health care providers supply culturally competent services and enhance cooperation with patients of different backgrounds. Cultural competency training, notably through cultural awareness courses, promotes understanding of the impact of social factors on illness and thus prepares medical and dental students to better serve their patients. Cultural awareness can also help preventive health programs fit community needs and cultural contexts. / Despite the fact that Chinese immigrants are the fastest growing ethnic minority in North America, few studies have been published on their beliefs and health-seeking behaviours following immigration. We thus lack information on how Chinese immigrants regard dental health and manage their dental problems. Objective. The aims of this study were to explore how oral illness is viewed by Chinese immigrants in Montreal, Canada and how they manage dental problems. Methods. We conducted a qualitative research study based on semi-structured, one-on-one interviews and thematic analyses of the transcribed interviews. Twelve adult Montreal Chinese immigrants with a high level of education participated in the study. / Results. Chinese immigrants in Montreal have a good understanding of dental caries in terms of its etiology, process, and ways to prevent and treat it. It thus seems that there is no major cultural barrier between this type of immigrant and oral health care professionals in regard to dental caries. However, we also observed that traditional beliefs and medications coexist with scientific dental knowledge and professional treatments concerning problems such as gingival swelling, gingival bleeding, and bad breath. In the case of gingival swelling, for instance, participants identified etiological factors that referred to both cultures: local factors referred to oral hygiene and were related to scientific culture, whereas general factors referred to traditional knowledge ("internal fire"). Chinese immigrants' dental health seeking pathways include self-treatment, consulting a dentist in Canada or in China during a return visit, and obtaining Chinese traditional medicine. The dental health seeking pathways varied depending on the circumstances. For dental caries and other acute diseases such as toothache, Chinese immigrants prefer to consult a dentist. For chronic diseases, some of them rely on self-treatment or an alter-native treatment such as traditional Chinese medicine. The language barrier, financial problems and lack of trust are the main factors affecting Chinese immigrants' access to dental care services in Canada. Former bad medical or dental experience among Chinese immigrants causes a loss of trust in Western medicine and dentistry and influences the decision to seek alternative treatments. / Conclusion. This study suggests that, in order to facilitate dentist-patient communication; oral health professionals should be informed of immigrants' representation of oral health and illness, and that Chinese immigrants should be provided with basic scientific knowledge.

Recension des écrits. L’autisme est un désordre neurodévelopemental qui peut présenter plusieurs défis pour le dentiste traitant en cabinet. Il n’existe aucune donnée publiée sur l’accessibilité et la dispensation de soins dentaires pour les enfants autistes dans le régime actuel des soins de santé au Québec. Matériels et Méthodes. Un questionnaire composé pour les besoins de l’étude et approuvé par le Comité d’éthique à la recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine a été distribué à des parents d’enfants visitant des cliniques externes du CHU Sainte-Justine. Les enfants devaient avoir entre 18 mois et 18 ans, avoir un grade ASA inférieur ou égal à II et, pour le groupe cas, avoir été diagnostiqué autiste ou TED par un professionnel compétent. Résultats. Vingt-sept parents de patients autistes et 37 parents de patients en bonne santé ont été sondé. Quarante-quatre pourcent du groupe cas rapportait qu’il était difficile de trouver un dentiste pour leur enfant contre 5% du groupe témoin. Seulement 35% des patients autistes sont suivis par un dentiste généraliste contre 79% des patients en bonne santé. Soixante-dix pourcent des parents du groupe cas doivent brosser les dents de leur enfant autiste et 83% considèrent la tâche difficile par un manque de coopération de l’enfant. Conclusion. Il est significativement plus difficile de trouver un dentiste pour un enfant autiste au Québec que pour un enfant en bonne santé. Pour cette population, il faudrait faciliter l’accès à un dentiste dans notre province. De plus, il faut épauler les parents dans la délivrance des mesures préventives. / Literature review. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that presents many challenges for the dental practitioner. There is currently no published data on the access to dental care for autistic children in Quebec. Materials and Methods. A survey, elaborated for this research and approved by the CHU Sainte-Justine’s research ethic committee, was distributed to parents of children visiting outpatient’s clinics of the hospital. The children had to be between the ages of 18 months and 18 years old, have an ASA score of 2 or lower and, for the study group, have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder by a professionnal. Results. Twenty-seven parents of autistic children and 37 parents of children in good health were surveyed. Fourty-four percent of the study group reported difficulty in finding a dentist compared to 5% of the controls. Only 35% of the autistic children were followed by a general dentist compared to 79% of the children in good health. Seventy percent of the parents in the study group have to brush their children’s teeth and 83% of them find it difficult because of a lack of cooperation from the child. Conclusion. It is significantly more difficult to find a dentist for an autistic child in Quebec than it is for a healthy child. For this patient population, we have to facilitate the accessibility to dental care in our province. Moreover, we need to support the parents of these children and provide them with the necessary to prevent dental disease.

<p> Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, was firmly linked to a new subset of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC's) in late 2007. With growing rates of West Virginians affected by HPV-related oral cancers it becomes pertinent to verify that public healthcare professionals of all disciplines are aware of this causal relationship and educating their patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge level, attitudes and behaviors of a convenience sample of West Virginia's public healthcare professionals regarding the oral implications of HPV before and after and educational presentation. A pre- and post- intervention survey methodology was utilized with an additional survey mailed to the sample population four months later. Chi-square tests for independence and binary logistic regression were utilized to determine any significant differences of answer choice on all three surveys. Statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in knowledge concerning oral cancer related to HPV on two of the three survey questions (X2= 6.4, p=0.03, X2=6.3, p=0.02). After the educational lecture participants indicated they were more likely to engage and educate the public about oral cancer caused by HPV (X2= 4.2, p =0.08), encourage their at-risk patients to seek oral cancer screenings (X2=2.1, p=0.18) and claim to have taken every opportunity to speak with patients about oral cancer caused by HPV (X2=14.5, p=0.0001). Knowledge of and patient education efforts by West Virginia public healthcare providers concerning the oral implications of HPV has increased as a result of the lecture. The knowledge gain indicated knowledge deficiencies on the topic which indicates the topics' future application for interprofessional education (IPE). It is recommended that this topic be applied to IPE in other states or within other settings such as the correctional environment or Native American reservations.</p>

Objective. To evaluate access to dental care for individuals with Down syndrome living with their families, as compared to those not living with families. Methods. A cross-sectional, observational study design was used. Data were collected through a questionnaire sent to the 2327 members of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between place of residence and a variety of indicators of access to dental care. Result. In the multivariate stage of analysis, after adjusting for possible confounders, significant association between place of residence and two dependent variables, indicated that individuals with DS living with their families had approximately twice the odds for ever had a filling, (95% CI, 1.0-3.8), and they had approximately one third odds for ever had extractions, compared to individuals with DS living elsewhere (95% CI, 0.1-0.7). Conclusion. These observations suggest that Canadians with DS living at home receiving different dental care compared to those living elsewhere.

The effect of one day and five day antibiotic administration for prophylaxis in orthognathic surgical procedures was compared. / A randomized double-blind clinical trial using placebo was conducted. Thirty patients were equally distributed between two groups. Each group received Penicillin G two million units intravenously pre-operatively, and one million units I.V. every three hours intraoperatively and three hours post-operatively. Group one then received Penicillin G, one million units I.V. every six hours for eight doses, then Penicillin V suspension 300 mg orally every six hours for eight doses. Group two received placebo in a similar dosing schedule. The wounds were inspected post-operatively for infection. / One patient out of fifteen in group one (2.2%) and nine patients out of fifteen (60%) in group two (placebo) became infected. The overall infection rate was 33.3%. There was a statistically significant difference in rates of infection between the two groups (p $<$ 0.01). Antibiotic prophylaxis for orthognathic surgical procedures should continue beyond the immediate post-operative period. Five days of antibiotic administration appears to provide adequate coverage.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.