Understanding Oral Diseases in Cystic Fibrosis to Develop Tailored Preventive Dental Interventions.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Abstract Individuals with cystic fibrosis receive routine medical care from a multi-specialty team of medical providers. Each CF care team member a patient interacts tends to be focused on a unique primary goal for their treatment plan. For example, pulmonologists are focused primarily on respiratory health and may overlook the individual’s oral health care needs. A dietician may be more focused on ensuring that the individual with CF is gaining weight, and thus will advise their patients to eat carbohydrate-rich foods and fruit juices. However, the absence of attention to oral health and advice that is in direct conflict with the goals of optimal oral health may create a scenario in which the individual receives inconsistent messaging from various providers, which could be harmful to their oral health and a factor that would need to be addressed in future oral health-focused interventions. In this project, I will conduct 60 interviews with CF care providers, including nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, social workers, dieticians, and pulmonologists. This study is a supplement to a 5-year observational U01 parent study that investigates the behavioral risk factors for oral health disease for individuals with cystic fibrosis. The parent study is the largest and first longitudinal CF oral health study to date, and the first to evaluate respiratory outcomes associated with oral diseases in CF. We will compare our provider interview findings to the findings of the larger parent U01 study, which will consist of survey responses, qualitative interviews, oral health data, and lung health data for 210 study participants with cystic fibrosis. This supplemental study expands on the parent study by providing insight into what CF care providers are communicating to patients, and how this communication impacts oral health. This study will allow us to see risk factor connections across the data, in partnership with the first aim of the parent U01 study, and to develop behavioral interventions involving CF care providers that are aimed at promoting oral health in individuals with CF.