Primary healthcare and the construction of meanings of oral health: a social constructionist interpretation of discourses of the elderly

Dentistry currently reveals itself to be open to new ideas about the construction of meanings for oral health. This openness leads to the social production of health revealing the contextualization of the social and historical aspects of the sundry knowledge in the development of oral health for different communities. With this research, we seek to build meanings for oral health with a group of elderly people. With this objective in mind, we propose an approximation between discourses on oral health mentioned by the elderly and the Social Constructionist discourse. We interviewed 14 elderly people enrolled in a Family Health Unit in Ribeirao Preto, State of Sao Paulo, in the first semester of 2010, and identified two interpretative repertoires through Discourse Analysis, which showed the relationship between 1 Lack of information and dental assistance in childhood, and 2 - Primary Health Care building the meaning of oral health. We concluded that Social Constructionism works epistemologically for the construction of meanings for oral health and that primary health is essential for appreciation and health care that enables the construction of meanings in oral health by the elderly that create conditions for self-care and healthy attitudes.

Factors related to poor self-perceived oral health among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The present study investigated the prevalence of poor self-perceived oral health and its association with oral health, general health and socioeconomic factors among elderly individuals from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The sample consisted of 871 elderly individuals enrolled in the Health, Wellbeing and Aging cohort study. Self-perceived oral health was measured by the question: "How would you rate your oral health?". Most subjects self-rated their oral health as good. Among dentate individuals, poor oral health was related to depression, poor self-rated health, dental treatment, dental checkups and the psychosocial sub-scale scores of the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index. Edentulous individuals were more likely to report poor oral health, whereas those with higher psychosocial scores were less likely to report poor self-rated oral health. Poor self-rated oral health is associated with general health factors and the psychosocial impact of oral health on quality of life, regardless of socioeconomic and clinical health measures.

Correlates of change in self-perceived oral health among older adults in Brazil Findings from the Health, Well-Being and Aging Study

Background. Identifying changes in the oral health status of older populations, and their predictors and explanations, is necessary for public health planning. The authors assessed patterns of change in oral health-related quality of life in a large cohort of older adults in Brazil during a five-year period and evaluated associations between baseline characteristics and those changes. Methods. The sample consisted of 747 older people enrolled in a Brazilian cohort study called the Health, Well-Being and Aging (Saude, Bem-estar e Envelhecimento [SABE]) Study. Trained examiners measured participants' self-perceived oral health by using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). The authors calculated changes in the overall GOHAI score and in the scores for each of the GOHAI's three dimensions individually by subtracting the baseline score from the score at follow-up. A positive difference indicated improvement in oral health, a negative difference indicated a decline and a difference of zero indicated no change. Results. The authors found that 48.56 percent of the participants experienced a decline in oral health and 33.48 percent experienced an improvement. Participants with 16 or more missing teeth and eight or more years of education were more likely to have an improvement in total GOHAI score. Deterioration was more likely to occur among those with two or more diseases. Improvement and decline in GOHAI functional scores were related to the number of missing teeth. The authors found no significant model for the change in the psychosocial score, and Self-rated general health was the only variable related to both improvement and decline in pain or discomfort scores. Conclusions. The authors observed a bidirectional change in self-perceived oral health, with deterioration predominating. The strongest predictor of improvement in the total GOHAI score was the number of missing teeth, whereas the number of diseases was the strongest predictor of deterioration. Clinical Implications. Dental professionals and policymakers need to know the directions of change in older adults' oral health to establish treatment priorities and evaluate the impact of services directed at this population.

Alimentação hospitalar: proposições para a qualificação do Serviço de Alimentação e Nutrição, avaliadas pela comunidade científica

The scope of this paper is to validate proposals used to qualify hospital food by the Brazilian scientific community. An electronic questionnaire was applied to clinical nutrition professionals registered on the Lattes Platform (Brazilian database of institutions and researchers' curricula in the areas of Science and Technology). The questionnaire incorporated a Likert scale and had spaces for comments. The themes dealt with patient participation, the nutritional and sensory quality of hospital diets, and planning and goals of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS). The questionnaire also asked for the top five priorities for a HFNS. Proposals with total or partial adherence equal to or greater than 70% were considered to be approved. All proposals had total adherence equal to or greater than 70%. The proposal that had minimal adherence (70%) was the one that proposed that nutritional intervention must be arranged by mutual agreement with the patient. The proposal that had maximal adherence (93%) was the one advocating that there must be statistical control on diets prescribed by the HFNS. The most cited priorities referred to infrastructure and training of human resources (40%), the quality of hospital food (27%) and the nutritional status of the patient.

Oral health and access to dental care services in relation to the Health Necessities Index. Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2008

The Health Department of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has developed a Health Necessities Index (HNI) to identify priority areas for providing health assistance. In 2008, a survey of the status of oral health was conducted. The objective of this ecological study was to analyze the status of oral health in relation to the HNI. The variables, stratified by the age of 5, 12 and 15 years old were: percentage of individuals with difficulty of access to dental care services; DMFT and DMFS; prevalence of the need for tooth extraction and treatment of dental caries. Data were analyzed for the 25 Health Technical Supervision Units (HTS). The Statistical Covariance Test was used as well as the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression model. A positive correlation was observed between high scores of the HNI and difficulty of access to services. In the HTS with high scores of HNI a higher incidence of dental caries was observed, a greater need for tooth extractions and low caries-free incidence. In order to improve health conditions of the population it is mandatory to prioritize actions in areas of social deprivation.

Abordagem dos temas alimentação e nutrição no material didático do ensino fundamental: interface com segurança alimentar e nutricional e parâmetros curriculares nacionais

A Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) deve ser assegurada a todos. A escola é ambiente propício à formação de hábitos saudáveis e à construção de cidadania. Os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCNs) orientam a promoção de concepções de saúde de modo transversal no currículo escolar. Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar e analisar a abordagem dos temas alimentação e nutrição no material didático do ensino fundamental e sua interface com o conceito de SAN e com os PCNs. Foi realizada pesquisa documental mediante o material didático de 5ª a 8ª séries do ensino fundamental da rede pública do Estado de São Paulo. A presença difusa do tema alimentação e nutrição na maioria das disciplinas, por todos os bimestres, nas quatro séries, traz à tona a interdisciplinaridade em saúde. Verificou-se que os PCNs estão relacionados ao conceito de SAN nos seus diversos aspectos e que a maioria das disciplinas contém temas que abordam esta relação. Na interface entre os temas, destaca-se a promoção da saúde e a produção dos alimentos. A metodologia utilizada no material didático apresenta o tema, mas não o conteúdo correlato, o que impossibilitou a análise de sua adequação. Conclui-se que existe a abordagem dos temas relacionados à alimentação e nutrição no material didático, alguns de forma inconsistente, e cabe aos educadores a seleção do conteúdo e da estratégia adequada, além de sua constante atualização, o que está sendo proposto pelo Estado, mas não está ao alcance de todos os profissionais e, portanto, ainda depende da iniciativa de cada docente.