Reasons for low adherence to diet-diaries issued to pediatric dental patients: a collective case study

Arheiam, Arheiam, Albadri, Sondos ORCID: 0000-0001-6516-9497, Laverty, Louise ORCID: 0000-0002-8491-8171 and Harris, Rebecca ORCID: 0000-0002-5891-6826 (2018) Reasons for low adherence to diet-diaries issued to pediatric dental patients: a collective case study. PATIENT PREFERENCE AND ADHERENCE, 12. pp. 1401-1411.

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Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>Dietary habits are an important etiological factor in the development of dental caries. Several tools, such as 24-h dietary recall (retrospective) and diet-diaries (prospective), have been recommended for dietary assessment in dental practice. Diet-diaries are commonly advocated as a tool for oral health education; however, low adherence is found to be a recognized downside of their use in dental settings, as well as nutritional research more widely. However, the reasons for poor adherence to diet-diaries remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the reasons for poor adherence to diet-diaries issued to children in a dental hospital setting.<h4>Methods</h4>A qualitative collective case study design was employed to explore the use of diet-diaries as a health education tool. Twenty-eight data sources across 11 appointments included: observation of dentist-patient interactions, semi-structured interviews with child-parent dyads and dentists, in addition to documentary analysis of returned diet-diaries (this included 11 observations of dentist-patient interactions, 14 interviews with the child/parent dyads and dentists, and documentary analysis of three completed diet-diaries). Data from these multiple sources were integrated in a thematic analysis to identify themes and sub-themes.<h4>Results</h4>Two overarching themes were identified: 1) the diet-diary is perceived as a test which carries a potential for embarrassment and blame, which in turn generates defensive behavior from parents; and 2) parents' values, priorities, and circumstances affect the level of commitment to completing a diet-diary.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Low adherence to diet-diary completion in clinical dentistry results from interacting factors related to the diet-diary itself, the patient, and the clinician. This study identifies a need for a more appropriate tool for dietary assessment that is patient-centered and compatible with modern lifestyles.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adherence, diet, health education, children, dental, dietary advice
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2018 13:13
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 01:29
DOI:	10.2147/PPA.S164944
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3024416