Historically, racial and ethnic minorities have been found to have disproportionately lower use of dental services compared to Whites (Aday et al., 1984). For example, Bloom et al. (1992) found that 17.2% of Mexican Americans, 12.6% other Hispanics, 6.9% of Blacks, and 4.2% of Whites reported never receiving any form of dental treatment. These differences exist despite racial/ethnic minorities having poorer health status. Although it has been found that poverty is a major contributing factor for both poor oral health and lack of dental care utilization, disparities in the utilization of dental care persist even after controlling for income (Manski & Magder, 1998). These findings suggest that cultural differences may influence oral health beliefs and subsequent utilization of oral health care.
Using the behavioral model of health services utilization (Andersen, 1995), this study examines racial/ethnic differences in the use of dental services. The sample consists of all adults who were surveyed in the 1997 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and completed questions concerning oral health. Data are analyzed using logistic regression to test the model of dental care utilization as a function of race/ethnicity, predisposing characteristics, and enabling factors. Dental utilization consists of dental visit in the past year. Race/ethnic groups included are White, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. Predisposing characteristics consist of age, gender, education, marital status, general health status, dentate status, patient satisfaction, and convenience of travel distance. Enabling characteristics include income, usual source of care, and insurance status. Policy implications of the results are discussed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to:
Keywords: Access to Care, Minority Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.