Jonathan Lee, Suha Muqeet, Katherine Sherman, Christopher White, Kenneth Lee, Denis Castillo
{"title":"Spinal cord injury Veterans access to dental care: Barriers and limitations.","authors":"Jonathan Lee, Suha Muqeet, Katherine Sherman, Christopher White, Kenneth Lee, Denis Castillo","doi":"10.1080/10790268.2025.2554016","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Context/objective: </strong>Oral hygiene is crucial for basic health by preventing systemic diseases. People with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in previous studies identified cost, physical barriers (such as chair lifts), and dental fear as barriers to dental care. Our study observes whether Veterans with SCI are receiving appropriate dental care, and if not, to identify the barriers.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Cross-sectional survey during their annual exam, inpatient stays, or outpatient visits.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Clement J. Zablockie Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders Program.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>188 Veterans with SCI (<i>n </i>= 188).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>157 (83.5%) Veterans reported having received dental care since their SCI. Most reported receiving post-SCI dental care at a non-VA clinic (63.3%) and at least annually (63.3%). Some of these Veterans reported being unable to receive dental care since their SCI (23.4%) and identified barriers: lack of insurance (60.0%), money (30.0%), physical obstacles (6.7%), and \"other\" reasons (10.0%). Veterans who were white (black OR 0.518, CI 0.157-1.709; other OR 0.181, CI 0.053-0.620), had dental insurance (OR 5.778, CI 1.258-26.547), and/or had VA dental care eligibility (OR 4.782, CI 1.516-15.085) were more likely to have received dental care since SCI. However, most did not report having insurance (70.9%) or VA eligibility for dental care (63.1%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Sex, age and level of injury were not related to dental care access, but race, insurance, and VA care eligibility were. Similar to the general population, finances were the most-reported barrier to dental care. Prioritizing early intervention, financial aid, and preventive measures can enhance the health of Veterans with SCIs.</p>","PeriodicalId":50044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10790268.2025.2554016","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Context/objective: Oral hygiene is crucial for basic health by preventing systemic diseases. People with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in previous studies identified cost, physical barriers (such as chair lifts), and dental fear as barriers to dental care. Our study observes whether Veterans with SCI are receiving appropriate dental care, and if not, to identify the barriers.
Design: Cross-sectional survey during their annual exam, inpatient stays, or outpatient visits.
Setting: Clement J. Zablockie Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders Program.
Participants: 188 Veterans with SCI (n = 188).
Results: 157 (83.5%) Veterans reported having received dental care since their SCI. Most reported receiving post-SCI dental care at a non-VA clinic (63.3%) and at least annually (63.3%). Some of these Veterans reported being unable to receive dental care since their SCI (23.4%) and identified barriers: lack of insurance (60.0%), money (30.0%), physical obstacles (6.7%), and "other" reasons (10.0%). Veterans who were white (black OR 0.518, CI 0.157-1.709; other OR 0.181, CI 0.053-0.620), had dental insurance (OR 5.778, CI 1.258-26.547), and/or had VA dental care eligibility (OR 4.782, CI 1.516-15.085) were more likely to have received dental care since SCI. However, most did not report having insurance (70.9%) or VA eligibility for dental care (63.1%).
Conclusions: Sex, age and level of injury were not related to dental care access, but race, insurance, and VA care eligibility were. Similar to the general population, finances were the most-reported barrier to dental care. Prioritizing early intervention, financial aid, and preventive measures can enhance the health of Veterans with SCIs.
背景/目的：口腔卫生对预防全身性疾病的基本健康至关重要。在先前的研究中，脊髓损伤（SCI）患者确定了成本、物理障碍（如椅子升降）和牙科恐惧是牙科护理的障碍。我们的研究观察患有脊髓损伤的退伍军人是否接受了适当的牙科护理，如果没有，确定障碍。设计：在年度检查、住院或门诊期间进行横断面调查。地点：克莱门特J.扎布罗基退伍军人事务医疗中心脊髓损伤/疾病项目。参与者：188例脊髓损伤退伍军人（n = 188）。结果：157名（83.5%）退伍军人在脊髓损伤后接受过牙科护理。大多数报告在非va诊所接受脊髓损伤后牙科护理（63.3%），每年至少接受一次（63.3%）。其中一些退伍军人报告说，自脊髓损伤以来无法接受牙科护理（23.4%），并确定了障碍：缺乏保险（60.0%）、金钱（30.0%）、身体障碍（6.7%）和“其他”原因（10.0%）。白人退伍军人（黑人OR 0.518, CI 0.157-1.709；其他OR 0.181, CI 0.053-0.620）、有牙科保险（OR 5.778, CI 1.258-26.547）和/或有VA牙科护理资格（OR 4.782, CI 1.516-15.085）在脊髓损伤后接受牙科护理的可能性更大。然而，大多数人没有报告有保险（70.9%）或VA牙科护理资格（63.1%）。结论：性别、年龄和损伤程度与获得牙科护理无关，但与种族、保险和退伍军人护理资格相关。与一般人群类似，财务状况是牙科护理的最大障碍。优先考虑早期干预、经济援助和预防措施可以改善患有SCIs的退伍军人的健康状况。
期刊介绍：
For more than three decades, The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine has reflected the evolution of the field of spinal cord medicine. From its inception as a newsletter for physicians striving to provide the best of care, JSCM has matured into an international journal that serves professionals from all disciplines—medicine, nursing, therapy, engineering, psychology and social work.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
