Smith André, MacEntee Michael I, Beattie B Lynn, Brondani Mario, Bryant Ross, Graf Peter, Hornby Kathryn, Kobayashi Karen, Wong Sabrina T
Department of Sociology and Centre on Aging, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2013 Mar;28(1):27-47. doi: 10.1007/s10823-013-9187-4.
Neglect of the mouth can lead to impairment, disability, and discomfort; as a result, it can have a negative impact on quality of life in old age. Some minority groups in North America shoulder a disproportionate burden of dental impairment compared to people of European origins, possibly because of different cultural beliefs and a distrust of Western oral healthcare. This paper explores these factors in elderly Chinese immigrants through a meta-synthesis of selected literature that reveals a dynamic interplay of traditional Chinese beliefs about oral health, immigration, and structural factors mediating access to Western dentistry. It also identifies several conceptual issues and gaps in knowledge, offers avenues of research including the cross-cultural application of two recent models of oral health, and discusses various strategies for improving access to dental services for minority populations.
忽视口腔健康会导致功能障碍、残疾和不适；因此，它会对老年人的生活质量产生负面影响。与欧洲裔人群相比，北美一些少数群体承担着不成比例的牙齿损伤负担，这可能是由于不同的文化信仰以及对西方口腔医疗保健的不信任。本文通过对选定文献的元综合分析，探讨了老年华裔移民中的这些因素，揭示了中国传统口腔健康观念、移民以及影响获得西方牙科服务的结构因素之间的动态相互作用。它还识别了几个概念问题和知识空白，提供了包括两种最新口腔健康模型的跨文化应用在内的研究途径，并讨论了改善少数群体获得牙科服务的各种策略。
