Effect of Regional Deprivation and Dental Care Resources on the Unmet Dental Care Needs due to Cost of Older Individuals in South Korea.

IF 2 3区医学 Q2 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

Gerodontology Pub Date : 2025-05-03 DOI:10.1111/ger.12823

Ji-Yeon Lim, Ju-Mi Lee, Hae-Sung Nam

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: To provide policy-relevant evidence to reduce oral health disparities and improve dental care accessibility by considering characteristics of urban and rural areas.

Background: Individual and regional factors influence dental care access. Regional poverty and limited dental resources among older adults may contribute to unmet dental care needs due to cost.

Materials and methods: A multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between regional factors (regional deprivation, number of dentists per 10,000 and number of dental offices per 100,000) and unmet dental care needs due to cost. The analysis was adjusted for individual factors, such as sex, education, marital status, household income, subjective health status, chewing difficulty and limited daily activities, as determined by the 2021 Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS; n = 47,802).

Results: The prevalence of unmet dental care needs due to cost was 4.94% in urban and 4.80% in rural older adults. Individuals who lived in higher regional deprivation (poorer regions) were less likely to experience unmet dental care needs due to cost (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.47-0.94) only in rural areas. Individuals residing in areas with a higher number of dentists per 10,000 were more likely to experience unmet dental care needs due to cost in urban (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.01-4.73) and rural (OR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.16-3.34). Household income and oral health status were the strongest predictors of unmet dental care needs due to cost.

Conclusions: The influence of regional poverty, dentist distribution and individual factors should be considered in developing policies to reduce the unmet dental care needs of older Koreans.

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区域剥夺和牙科保健资源对韩国老年人未满足的牙科保健需求的影响

目的：结合城乡特点，为缩小口腔健康差距，提高口腔保健可及性提供政策依据。背景：个体和区域因素影响牙科保健的可及性。地区贫困和老年人有限的牙科资源可能会导致牙科保健需求未得到满足。材料与方法：采用多水平logistic回归分析，检验区域因素（区域贫困、每万名牙医数量和每10万名牙科诊所数量）与成本导致的未满足的牙科保健需求之间的关系。根据2021年韩国社区健康调查（KCHS）确定的个人因素，如性别、教育程度、婚姻状况、家庭收入、主观健康状况、咀嚼困难和有限的日常活动，对分析进行了调整；n = 47,802)。结果：城镇老年人因费用原因未满足牙科保健需求的比例为4.94%，农村老年人为4.80%。生活在较高地区贫困地区（较贫困地区）的个人由于成本原因（OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.47-0.94），仅在农村地区就不太可能经历未满足的牙科保健需求。由于城市（OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.01-4.73）和农村（OR = 1.97）的成本，居住在每万名牙医数量较高地区的个人更有可能经历未满足的牙科保健需求；95% ci = 1.16-3.34)。由于成本原因，家庭收入和口腔健康状况是未满足牙科保健需求的最强预测因子。结论：在制定政策时应考虑地区贫困、牙医分布和个人因素的影响，以减少韩国老年人未满足的牙科保健需求。

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来源期刊

Gerodontology 医学-老年医学

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

10.00%

发文量

审稿时长

3-6 weeks

期刊介绍： The ultimate aim of Gerodontology is to improve the quality of life and oral health of older people. The boundaries of most conventional dental specialties must be repeatedly crossed to provide optimal dental care for older people. In addition, management of other health problems impacts on dental care and clinicians need knowledge in these numerous overlapping areas. Bringing together these diverse topics within one journal serves clinicians who are seeking to read and to publish papers across a broad spectrum of specialties. This journal provides the juxtaposition of papers from traditional specialties but which share this patient-centred interest, providing a synergy that serves progress in the subject of gerodontology.