Premium
Factors associated with self‐reported use of dental health services among older Greek and Italian immigrants
Author(s) -
Mariño Rodrigo,
Wright Clive,
Schofield Margot,
Minichiello Victor,
Calache Hanny
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.2005.tb00369.x
Subject(s) - medicine , immigration , dental health , gerontology , oral health , family medicine , archaeology , history
The authors discuss utilization of dental health services by older Greek and Italian immigrants in Melbourne. Australia. Their study involved 374 Greek and 360 Italian adults who completed a questionnaire and received an oral examination. Nearly 41% of Greek and 45% of Italian respondents had used dental services in the previous year. As barriers to care, Greek participants most often cited waiting lists and waiting time in the office. Italian participants most often identified cost, length of waiting lists and language barriers. Multivariate analyses associated recent use of dental services with number of teeth, oral health knowledge, age and occupation before retirement for both groups, as well as living arrangements among Greek participants and perceived barriers among Italian participants. Findings highlight the need for oral health promotion programs targeted toward older adults from immigrant populations and reductions of the structural barriers that prevent these adults from seeking oral health care.