Lo Edward C M, Tan Hai P
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Gerodontology. 2014 Feb;31 Suppl 1:72-6. doi: 10.1111/ger.12082.
For successful implementation of oral healthcare services for elders, there is a need to understand and respond to their oral health beliefs, perceived needs and preferred type of care services, all of which are shaped by their cultural beliefs and values. This poses challenges to oral healthcare providers, especially when serving a diverse elderly population with people coming from different cultural backgrounds. The general principles of oral healthcare provision and their adaptation to serve culturally diverse elderly populations are discussed. The oral health beliefs and behaviours of Chinese, an ethnic group that can be found in many countries across the world, are highlighted and used as examples. Chinese elders generally attach a higher value to the physical functions than to the appearance of their dentition and prefer to use traditional self-care methods to deal with their oral health problems rather than to seek professional services. There is need to incorporate into the training of oral healthcare providers the competence to adapt their services to the beliefs and practices of culturally diverse elderly population groups in different settings.
为了成功地为老年人提供口腔保健服务，有必要了解并回应他们的口腔健康观念、感知到的需求以及偏好的护理服务类型，所有这些都受到他们文化信仰和价值观的影响。这给口腔保健提供者带来了挑战，尤其是在为来自不同文化背景、构成多样化的老年人群体提供服务时。本文讨论了口腔保健服务的一般原则及其如何调整以服务文化背景多样的老年人群体。以世界各地许多国家都有的华人群体为例，重点介绍了他们的口腔健康观念和行为。中国老年人通常更看重牙齿的生理功能而非外观，并且更倾向于使用传统的自我护理方法来处理口腔健康问题，而不是寻求专业服务。有必要将使口腔保健提供者能够根据不同环境中文化背景多样的老年人群体的信仰和习惯调整服务的能力纳入培训内容。
