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Developing Stakeholder-Informed Content for a Mobile Application to Prevent Early Childhood Caries Using a
Murugan Satta Muthu1, Latha Nirmal2, Vineet Dhar3
1Centre for Early Childhood Caries Research (CECCRe), Sri Ramachandra Dental College & Hospital, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research (SRIHER), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Background:
Early childhood caries (ECC) is a major global oral health issue impacting children under 6 years of age, often resulting in a reduced quality of life.
Aim:
To develop content for a mobile application (app) designed to provide sustained anticipatory guidance (SAG) for ECC prevention.
Design:
A qualitative study involved parents of children aged 0-3 years, with and without ECC, and healthcare providers (HCPs). Data were collected through 24 semi-structured interviews (SSIs) and two focus group discussions (FGDs) with parents and 15 virtual SSIs with HCPs. Guides were developed using the Fisher-Owens model and the theory of planned behaviour that facilitated data collection. Sessions were recorded with consent, transcribed verbatim and coded using NVivo 1.7.2.
Results:
Thematic analysis provided insights for developing app content that comprised the domains of oral development, oral hygiene, dietary/feeding practices and fluoride adequacy. Parents (n = 38) and HCPs (n = 15) emphasised interactive features, video demonstrations, brushing reminders and culturally appropriate educational content.
Conclusions:
The study established a robust framework for a mobile health (mHealth) platform by providing stakeholder-informed content for a mobile app. This foundation might enhance future app development, providing SAG and evaluation.
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