Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES: The specific aim of this study was to determine the self-reported likelihood of New York Puerto Ricans (NYPR) and San Juan Puerto Ricans (SJPR) to participate in: 10 site-specific cancer screenings, cancer-screenings conducted by different specific persons/agencies and cancer-screening under specific conditions of what one was asked to do as a part of cancer screening. METHODS: The Cancer Screening Questionnaire (CSQ) was administered via random-digit-dial telephone interviews to 154 adults living in San Juan, PR and 155 in New York, NY. RESULTS: Although the self-reported willingness to participate across the 10 site-specific cancer screening exams was consistently high in both cities, SJPR had higher rates, as compared to NYPR for all 10 site-specific cancer screening exams in the unadjusted analyses. A similar pattern was observed regarding the influence of both 'who conducts the cancer-screening exam' and 'what one is asked to do in a cancer-screening exam' as factors in the willingness to participate in such exams. Adjusted multivariate analysis showed that the odds of SJPR participating in skin cancer screening as compared to NYPR, were three-fold higher to participate in skin cancer screening and were two-fold higher to participate in a cancer screening where they have to be interviewed about their alcohol habits. These two observed differences might reflect the effect of acculturation in the NYPR

The broad goal of the Tuskegee Legacy Project (TLP) study was to address, and understand, a range of issues related to the recruitment and retention of Blacks and other minorities in biomedical research studies. The specific aim of this analysis was to compare the self-reported willingness of Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites to participate as research subjects in biomedical studies, as measured by the Likelihood of Participation (LOP) Scale and the Guinea Pig Fear Factor (GPFF) Scale. The Tuskegee Legacy Project Questionnaire, a 60 item instrument, was administered to 1,133 adult Blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Whites in 4 U.S. cities. The findings revealed no difference in self-reported willingness to participate in biomedical research, as measured by the LOP Scale, between Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites, despite Blacks being 1.8 times as likely as Whites to have a higher fear of participation in biomedical research on the GPFF Scale

AIMS: The Kungsholmen Elders Oral Health Study evaluated the oral health status of generally healthy, community-dwelling persons aged 80 years and over living in Stockholm, Sweden. This paper reports periodontal disease findings and evaluates the distribution by sociodemographic factors. METHODS: Eligible persons were identified through the Kungsholmen Project, an ongoing, longitudinal, population-based study of older adults. A total of 121 study subjects received a periodontal examination. RESULTS: The mean pocket probing depth was 2.6 mm and the mean clinical attachment loss was 3.7 mm. Gingival bleeding was common. Over half of all study participants met the criteria used for 'serious periodontitis' (SP). In the best fit adjusted odds ratio (OR) model, males were 3.1 times more likely than females to have 'SP' (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.2, 8.0), a statistically significant observation. A sub-analysis of the differences in proportion of participants with SP revealed that the difference by sex also increased by age. CONCLUSIONS: These findings document the substantial and ongoing impact of periodontal disease in a sample of generally healthy, community dwelling older adults and underscore the importance of continued periodontal disease prevention and treatment in the oldest-old

PURPOSE: This study sought to identify barriers and facilitators to dental care among families of predominately low socioeconomic status having children with and without HIV. METHODS: Twelve focus group sessions with African-American and Hispanic caregivers and 18 individual semistructured interviews with key informant health care providers were held at two sites: a hospital-based program (HBP) and a dental school-based program (DSBP), that provide pediatric dental services. SPSS Textsmart software was used to analyze qualitative data within and across group types and sites. RESULTS: Focus group participants (n = 72, averaging 6 women per group) included: HIV-seropositive biological mothers of HIV-seropositive children (4 groups); HIV-seronegative caregivers of HIV-seropositive children (4 groups); and Medicaid-eligible, HIV-seronegative caregivers of HIV-seronegative children (4 groups). The most commonly expressed barrier to dental care across groups was poor interpersonal communication between dental staff and caregiver/child. HIV-seronegative groups cited health care delivery system factors as barriers to receiving dental care more frequently than HIV-seropositive caregivers who cited shame/anger and family illness as being more important. Common facilitators were positive communication and transportation assistance. Unique facilitators for HIV-seropositive groups were coordination of the dental visits with medical appointments at the HBP. Key informants acknowledged high stress in families having children with HIV/AIDS, cited dental fear among caregivers as a barrier to dental treatment adherence and reported that dental care seemed to be a low priority among many of these families. CONCLUSIONS: Facilitators and barriers to care included factors in the family, dental care and health care delivery systems as well as interpersonal communication between the dental providers and the families.