December 2015

Volume 32, Issue 4

Caregiver financial distress, depressive symptoms and limited social capital as barriers to children’s dental care in a midwestern county in the United States

Authors: D.J. Kruger K.D. Smith L. Kunkel G.D. Kodjebacheva J.S. Kruger
doi: 10.1922/CDH_3532Kruger05

Abstract

Objective: To identify barriers to children’s access to dental care. Basic research design: A cross-sectional health survey. Setting: All residential census tracts in Genesee County, Michigan, USA. Participants: 498 adults who reported having children in their households, extracted from 2,932 randomly selected adult participants in the 2009 and 2011 surveys. Main measures: Stepwise logistic regression was used to predict two dependent variables: children’s lack of any visits to dentists’ offices and unmet dental care needs (defined as needing dental care but not receiving it due to cost) in the previous year as reported by the adults. Independent variables included gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, financial planning, financial distress, fear of crime, stress, depressive symptoms, experiences of discrimination, and neighbourhood social capital. Results: Of the 498 adults, 29.9% reported that they had children who had not visited a dentist in the past 12 months and 13% reported that they had household children with unmet dental care needs in the past year. Adults who reported higher depressive symptoms, lower neighbourhood social capital, greater financial distress, and who were younger were more likely to have household children who did not visit a dentist in the past year. Financial distress was the only significant predictor when controlling for other variables to predict unmet dental care needs. Conclusions: Factors beyond financial distress affect children’s dental care; these include parental depressive symptoms and lower neighbourhood social capital. Interventions promoting parental mental health and social integration may increase dental care among children. Key words: dental care, children, caregivers, financial distress, depressive symptoms, social capital, USA

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Dental anxiety and oral health in 15-year-olds: a repeated cross-sectional study over 30 years 221-225 Download
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A retrospective audit of population service access trends for cleft lip and cleft palate patients 237-240 Download
Perceived mental stress in relation to oral health over time in middle-aged Swedish women 241-246 Download
Dental utilization disparities in a Jewish context: reasons and potential solutions 247-251 Download
Caregiver financial distress, depressive symptoms and limited social capital as barriers to children’s dental care in a midwestern county in the United States 252-256 Download

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