Giddings Lynne, McKenzie-Green Barbara, Buttle Linda, Tahana Keita
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, AUT University, Auckland.
N Z Med J. 2008 Sep 5;121(1281):72-9.
The purpose of this study was to examine challenges older people encounter in maintaining satisfactory oral health status.
This interpretive qualitative study involved 19 in-depth interviews with participants aged 65 to 87 years. Data were examined using a three-level analytic process. NVivo Qualitative Software assisted data management.
Participants in this study didn't 'just go' to the dentist. Much effort went into solving the dilemmas and tensions of maintaining their oral health through a process of option balancing. Balancing personal and financial costs, they continually assessed their 'bottom line'. They negotiated issues of: dental cost versus service quality; basic treatment versus functionality and social appearance; future living costs versus current dental costs; and 'how long will it need to last' versus 'how long will I live'?
Problems exist in the provision of affordable oral health care for the older population in Aotearoa New Zealand. They struggle to afford dental care. They receive little financial support to access oral healthcare services and are dependent on developing their own strategies to enable such care. Health professionals and policy decisionmakers' challenge is to bridge this gap.
本研究旨在探讨老年人在维持令人满意的口腔健康状况时所遇到的挑战。
这项诠释性定性研究对19名年龄在65至87岁之间的参与者进行了深入访谈。数据采用三级分析过程进行检验。NVivo定性软件辅助数据管理。
本研究中的参与者并非“仅仅去”看牙医。他们通过权衡选择的过程，付出了很大努力来解决维持口腔健康的困境和压力。在平衡个人和经济成本时，他们不断评估自己的“底线”。他们协商了以下问题：牙科费用与服务质量；基本治疗与功能及社会形象；未来生活成本与当前牙科费用；以及“它需要持续多久”与“我还能活多久”？
在新西兰奥特亚罗瓦，为老年人口提供负担得起的口腔保健服务存在问题。他们难以负担牙科护理费用。他们获得的口腔保健服务资金支持很少，只能依靠制定自己的策略来获得此类护理。卫生专业人员和政策决策者面临的挑战是弥合这一差距。
