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Biomedical subjects

R Mariño

Publications and source records attributed to R Mariño.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Knowledge, risk perceptions and condom usage in male sex workers from three Australian cities.

The study identifies factors associated with knowledge and perception of risk of HIV/AIDS, as well as attitudes to and usage of condoms by a sample of male sex workers (MSW). One hundred and eighty-five male sex workers completed a self-reported questionnaire, including knowledge about HIV transmission, attitudes to condom use and perceptions and personal susceptibility to HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk, and a two-week diary recording use of condom during commercial sex encounters. The findings reveal that condom use was found in 77.7% of the encounters with clients and the majority of the respondents perceived themselves to be at no risk for HIV because of sex work. Independent sex workers from Melbourne and workers who owned their place of residence used condoms in a significant lower proportion. Generally speaking, knowledge about the risks associated with AIDS was high, with respondents showing lower knowledge about the risks associated with unprotected receptive or active oral sex. Participants held a positive attitude to condom use; most considered the provisions of condoms to be their responsibility rather than clients; and they were more worried about contracting an STI than HIV. Those who scored higher on the knowledge scale had more positive attitudes to condom use and those who had a more positive attitude to condom use recorded a perceived lower risk of contracting STI but not HIV. The study discusses the relevance of these findings for public health risk reduction and sexual health education campaigns.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Acculturation and dental health among Vietnamese living in Melbourne, Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the relationship between acculturation and oral health status, oral health knowledge and frequency of dental visits in subjects of Vietnamese background, 18 years or older, living in Melbourne, Australia. METHODS: Oral health status was measured using the DMFS index. Oral health knowledge was estimated by responses to six specific oral preventive measures: brushing, flossing, use of fluorides, diet, and dental visits. Dental visits was measured by the number of visits in the 12 months prior to the survey. Acculturation was measured along two dimensions, psychological and behavioural, using the Psychological-Behavioural Acculturation Scale. Data were analysed using multivariate analysis to identify the combined effect of eight predictors (age, gender, occupational status, education, reason for migration, proportion of life in the host country, behavioural acculturation and psychological acculturation) against the dependent variables. RESULTS: The analysis was conducted on a sample of 147 subjects and showed significant interactions between the acculturation variables and three outcome measures: dental caries, knowledge of preventive measures and dental visits. Results indicated that acculturation was an important intervening variable. Psychological acculturation was strongly related to the three oral health outcomes, although the effect of behavioural acculturation was also apparent regarding dental status. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers several insights for understanding the mechanisms by which acculturation impacts oral health status. Interventions that simplify the cultural influence of immigrant groups by focusing on socio-demographic differences and even immigration variables to define risk groups might not produce predicted changes in oral health status.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2000

An instrument to measure safer sex strategies used by male sex workers.

Several studies have related safe sex in the commercial sex encounter to the ability of sex workers to apply specific safer sex strategies. However, no instrument has been previously available to measure these skills. The Safer-Sex Strategy Scale (SSS) was developed for such purposes. The psychometric properties (reliability and validity) were evaluated with a sample of sex workers recruited from Australian cities. A questionnaire was administered to 184 sex workers aged 18-58 years using a convenience sampling method. Results indicated that the SSS can be conceptualized as a four variation construct and can be reliably (all subscales yielded at least a Cronbach's alpha = .60) and validly measured. Additionally, the relationship of the SSS to various sex work experiences was explored. The results show that the length of time working as a sex worker and contact with sex work organizations and sexual health clinics appear to influence the level of agreement of using the safer sex strategies evaluated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A profile of the clients of male sex workers in three Australian cities.

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the profile of clients as reported by 186 male sex workers in three Australian cities. METHOD: The data were collected using a diary which was completed after each commercial sexual encounter with a male client over a two-week period. The data reported in this study are based on reports from 2,088 sex encounters and a profile of 1,776 clients. RESULTS: The findings reveal, for example, that the most common source used for recruiting clients was advertisements, followed by escort agencies, although there were differences between the three cities; the majority of the clients were in their 40s but clients of street workers were younger; clients were most often classified as 'middle class', with differences by source of client recruitment; less than half the clients were identified as being gay and a significant number were identified as bisexual or straight; alcohol and drug use took place in a small percentage of the encounters; most workers had some information about their clients, such as occupation and home number; violence was infrequent; and unsafe sex was requested in a minority of the encounters. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results reveal that clients of male sex workers are a highly heterogeneous group. IMPLICATIONS: The paper highlights a number of issues which can further promote safety and public accountability in male sex work.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Milk fluoridation program in Codegua, Chile: evaluation after 3 years].

A study was done in 1994 to determine the effectiveness of the fluoridated dairy products that the Chilean National Program for Supplementary Feeding had been distributing to reduce the high prevalence of children's dental caries in rural areas of that country. For the study, the prevalence of caries was assessed in two rural communities of the Sixth Region of Chile. Children in the study community of Codegua had received fluoridated dairy products, while children in the control community of La Punta had received nonfluoridated dairy products. Three years after the program began in Codegua, the community showed a significant improvement in the indices of prevalence of caries. Over that time period, the prevalence of caries among children 3 to 6 years old declined between 40% and 60%. Among children 3 years old, the proportion of them without a history of caries increased by 74%, from 40.7% to 70.8%. Among 4-year-olds, that proportion rose by 71%, from 33.3% to 56.9%. Similar to results obtained elsewhere with programs to fluoridate drinking water, the outcomes in Codegua were achieved without any other steps by the National Program for Supplementary Feeding, such as motivational campaigns for mothers or educational efforts to encourage consumption of the program's food products.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1995

Should we use milk fluoridation? A review.

This article presents the argument that because of several demonstrated advantages, milk fluoridation provides a valid alternative to water fluoridation when the latter is not possible. Extensive literature describing study of fluoride compounds administered with calcium-rich food, as well as clinical trials and laboratory experiments with fluoridated milk, have demonstrated its effectiveness in caries prevention. The main criticisms of milk fluoridation are decreased bioavailability of the fluoride, the cost and administrative burden involved, and (in some cases) lack of sound clinical conclusions regarding its preventive efficacy. These criticisms are reviewed in the light of evidence now available.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Oral health of the elderly: reality, myth, and perspective.

As life expectancy increases, and with it both the relative and absolute numbers of individuals age 60 and older, oro-dental health services face new challenges. This article explores the status of geriatric dental care in Latin America through a bibliographic review of epidemiologic studies included in the MEDLINE and LILACS systems, as well as PAHO studies on this subject. The areas addressed are the elderly's oro-dental health status, perceptions of their own oro-dental health, and frequency of dental service use. The review gives special attention to the critical state of oro-dental health among Latin America's elderly population, which exhibits high prevalences of caries-related tooth loss and total loss of dentition. The review revealed a scarcity of data relating to periodontal health and the health status of buccal soft tissues in the elderly population. It also found that elderly survey subjects tended to perceive their own oro-dental health in a manner inconsistent with clinical observations. According to several survey-based studies, most of those surveyed felt their oro-dental health was good or very good with few or no chewing problems. Regarding service utilization, many of those interviewed indicated they had not seen a dentist during the 6 months preceding the study. In view of the health, social, and psychologic consequences of the current situation for the elderly and the oral health services' potential for improving this population's quality of life, it is strongly recommended that appropriate and effective oro-dental health care programs oriented to this age group be developed.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Oral manifestations of HIV infection: a Panamerican perspective.

This paper presents a preliminary approach to the study of the oral manifestations of HIV infections in the region of the Americans. A general description of the lesions encountered is provided together with a review of the prevalence of the different manifestations in some countries of the Americas. Oral candidiasis was the most common oral lesion identified. Among oral candidiasis lesions differences were noted in relation to the frequency of the clinical forms seen. Hairy leukoplakia was the second most frequent lesion in almost all studies, with the exception the Peruvian study, where the most prevalent oral condition was xerostomia. The numbers of cases of HIV-gingivitis and HIV-periodontitis found in the countries of the Americas were lower than the cases in USA. Other oral manifestations of HIV infections seen were: Kaposi's sarcoma, oral erythema, labial herpetic infection. It is concluded that still more studies are needed, oral health professionals need additional training in the detection and treatment of lesions, and information needs to be systematized and standardized such that it is possible to make accurate comparisons among regions and countries. Recommendations are included to improve this situation.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗