Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110569

Helen Nahouraii, DMD, MPH, Department of Health Policy and Administration, UNC School of Public Health, c/o Gary Rozier, McGavran-Greenberg, CB# 7411, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411, 919-264-5535, helen.nahouraii@ncmail.net, Melanie R. Wasserman, PhD, Center for Gerontology & Health Care Research, Brown University, Box G-B2, Providence, RI 02912, R. Gary Rozier, DDS, Department of Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1105F McGavran-Greenberg,CB #7411, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411, and Deborah Bender, PhD MPH, Health Policy and Administration, The University of North Carolina, C.B. 7411, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.

Research suggests that dental caries disproportionately affect foreign-born Latinos. Barriers to dental care utilization within this group include health beliefs, lack of dental insurance, limited clinic hours, cost, language barriers, and shortages of dental health professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of social support in helping Latina immigrant mothers to overcome these barriers. As part of the Migration Transitions Study, 229 Latina immigrant women aged 15 - 44, living in North Carolina, were interviewed about social support and dental care use of their oldest child between the ages of 1 and 10. Women were asked whether someone in North Carolina (1) gave them information about dental care; (2) helped them to make an appointment; (3) helped them to get to an appointment; and (4) accompanied them into the office for an appointment. Hospitals or clinics most frequently provided informational support, while other forms of support were most frequently provided by immediate family members. Chi-square tests, adjusting for sampling weights and survey design, were used to test bivariate relationships between social support variables and ever completion of a dental care visit by the index child. Children's dental care use was higher for women who received at least one form of support (p<0.5). In a logistic regression model controlling for key confounders, children whose mothers reported at least one of the three forms of social support were 3.8 times more likely to have ever received a dental check-up (95% CI=2.21, 6.60).

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Describe oral health disparities affecting foreign-born Latino children
• Discuss the role that social support may play in helping Latina immigrants access dental care for their children.

Keywords: Oral Health, Access Immigration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.