Assessing the contribution of the dental care delivery system to oral health care disparities.
نویسندگان
چکیده
OBJECTIVES Existing studies of disparities in access to oral health care for underserved populations often focus on supply measures such as number of dentists. This approach overlooks the importance of other aspects of the dental care delivery system, such as personal and practice characteristics of dentists, that determine the capacity to provide care. This study aims to assess the role of such characteristics in access to care of underserved populations. METHODS We merged data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey and a 2003 survey of California dentists in their Medical Study Service Areas (MSSAs). We examined the role of overall supply and other characteristics of dentists in income and racial/ethnic disparities in access, which was measured by annual dental visits and unmet need for dental care due to costs. RESULTS We found that some characteristics of MSSAs, including higher proportions of dentists who were older, white, busy or overworked, and did not accept public insurance or discounted fees, inhibited access for low-income and minority populations. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the importance of monitoring characteristics of dentists in addition to traditional measures of supply such as licensed-dentist-to-population ratios. The findings identify specific aspects of the delivery system such as dentists' participation in Medicaid, provision of discounted care, busyness, age, race/ethnicity, and gender that should be regularly monitored. These data will provide a better understanding of how the dental care delivery system is organized and how this knowledge can be used to develop more narrowly targeted policies to alleviate disparities.
منابع مشابه
A Model of Basic Dental Care Service in a Developing Health Care System
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the components of oral health care system in some developed countries and propose a model for Iran Methods: The present study was a qualitative, cross-sectional, and comparative research that took place in 2012. Oral health care systems in some developed countries were reviewed to propose a framework for Iran. This framework was discussed and revie...
متن کاملOral health disparities in the United States.
Oral health disparities refers to the existence of differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of oral diseases and other adverse health conditions, as well as the use of health care services, among specific population groups in the United States. Existence of disparities in oral health status, accessing and using the oral health care delivery system, and receiving treatment...
متن کاملEffects of Education on Oral and Dental Care of Pregnant Women, Based on the Health Belief Model
ntroduction: Oral/dental care is necessary for the health of mother and her fetus during pregnancy. Recent research has indicated a relationship between periodontal diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as premature delivery, low birth weight, and neonatal admission in intensive care units. The present study aimed to examine the effects of education on ora...
متن کاملWhy do we need an oral health care policy in Canada?
Although health care is a right of citizenship, severe inequities in oral health and access to care persist. This paper provides information on the financing, organization and delivery of oral health services in Canada. It concludes that dental care has largely fallen out of consideration as health care. The increasing costs of dental insurance and disparities in oral health and access to care ...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of public health dentistry
دوره 75 1 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2015