Open AccessSelf-Reported Dental Visits Among Older Adults Receiving Home- and Community-Based Services
Author(s) -
Steffany Chamut,
Shahdokht Boroumand,
Timothy Iafolla,
Margo R. Adesanya,
Elena M. Fazio,
Bruce A. Dye
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied gerontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.857
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1552-4523
pISSN - 0733-4648
DOI - 10.1177/0733464820925320
Subject(s) - medicine , oral health , gerontology , cross sectional study , health literacy , educational attainment , descriptive statistics , family medicine , health care , economic growth , statistics , mathematics , pathology , economics
Objective: To investigate factors associated with infrequent dental use among older adults receiving home- and community-based services. Method: This cross-sectional study analyzed responses from the 2014 National Survey of Older Americans Act participants who received home- and community-based services. Descriptive and multivariable analyses were conducted to examine the association between infrequent dental use and key sociodemographic and health indicators. Results: Infrequent dental use was highest among adults participating in case management and home-delivered meals (63%); the lowest among those participating in congregate meals (41%). Participants who did not complete high school were 2 to 5 times more likely to be infrequent dental users compared to those with educational attainment beyond high school. Discussion: Among older adults receiving home- and community-based services, improving oral health knowledge and health literacy may reduce infrequent dental use.