Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, MD, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2013 Mar;103(3):488-93. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300846. Epub 2013 Jan 17.
We examined utilization, unmet need, and satisfaction with oral health services among Federally Qualified Health Center patients. We examined correlates of unmet need to guide efforts to increase access to oral health services among underserved populations.
Using the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey, we performed multivariate logistic regressions to examine factors associated with access to dental care at health centers, unmet need, and patient experience.
We found no racial or ethnic disparities in access to timely oral health care among health center patients; however, uninsured patients and those whose insurance does not provide dental coverage experienced restricted access and greater unmet need. Slightly more than half of health center patients had a dental visit in the past year, but 1 in 7 reported that their most recent visit was at least 5 years ago. Among health center patients who accessed dental care at their health center, satisfaction was high.
These results underscore the critical role that health centers play in national efforts to improve oral health status and eliminate disparities in access to timely and appropriate dental services.
我们调查了合格联邦健康中心患者的口腔卫生服务的利用情况、未满足的需求和服务满意度。我们调查了未满足需求的相关因素，以指导努力增加服务不足人群获得口腔卫生服务的机会。
我们使用 2009 年健康中心患者调查，进行多变量逻辑回归分析，以调查与健康中心获得牙科护理、未满足需求和患者体验相关的因素。
我们没有发现健康中心患者在获得及时口腔保健方面存在种族或民族差异；然而，没有保险或保险不包括牙科保险的患者获得的服务有限，未满足的需求也更大。略多于一半的健康中心患者在过去一年中进行了牙科就诊，但有 1/7 的患者报告说他们最近一次就诊是在至少 5 年前。在在其健康中心获得牙科护理的健康中心患者中，满意度很高。
这些结果强调了健康中心在国家努力改善口腔健康状况和消除及时获得适当牙科服务方面的差距方面发挥的关键作用。
