School of Social Work, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA.
Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York City, NY, USA.
J Dent Res. 2023 Jul;102(8):895-900. doi: 10.1177/00220345231170845. Epub 2023 May 30.
Good oral health is essential for healthy aging. Regular dental care utilization is instrumental to good oral health. Older immigrants tend to experience poorer oral health and less dental care use as compared with their native-born counterparts in the host country. Older immigrants are particularly vulnerable to interrupted or lost social ties and acculturation challenges after immigration to a new country. This study examined whether and to what extent social relations, acculturation, and perceived oral health needs are associated with dental care utilization in foreign-born older Chinese Americans. Data came from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago, which were collected between 2017 and 2019 ( = 3,000). Dental care utilization was dichotomized into "yes" versus "no" in the past 2 y. Social relations were measured by positive and negative relations with spouse, family, and friends. Acculturation was measured by length of stay, behavioral acculturation, and residence in Chinatown. Perceived oral health needs were measured by the presence of problems related to teeth, gums, or bleeding. As guided by the Andersen model, separate logistic regression models were used to investigate factors of dental care utilization. An overall 23.1% reported dental care utilization. Individuals with no negative relations with spouse, family, and friends were 31%, 36%, and 38% less likely to visit a dentist, respectively. Individuals with higher levels of behavioral acculturation were 4% more likely to visit a dentist; individuals living in Chinatown were 45% less likely; and individuals with perceived oral health needs were 2.5 times more likely. Findings illustrate the importance of understanding social relations, immigration-related factors, and perceived oral health needs in dental care utilization in older immigrants.
良好的口腔健康对于健康老龄化至关重要。定期进行口腔保健对于口腔健康至关重要。与出生在东道国的同龄人相比，老年移民的口腔健康状况往往较差，口腔保健的利用率也较低。老年移民在移民到新国家后面临着社会联系中断或丧失以及文化适应挑战的特别脆弱。本研究考察了社会关系、文化适应和感知的口腔健康需求是否以及在何种程度上与外国出生的老年华裔美国人的口腔保健利用率相关。数据来自于 2017 年至 2019 年期间在中国老年人口研究（Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago）中收集的资料（n = 3000）。过去 2 年中，口腔保健的利用率被分为“是”和“否”。社会关系通过与配偶、家人和朋友的积极和消极关系来衡量。文化适应通过停留时间、行为适应和唐人街居住来衡量。感知的口腔健康需求通过与牙齿、牙龈或出血相关的问题的存在来衡量。根据安德森模型（Andersen model），分别使用逻辑回归模型来研究口腔保健利用率的因素。总体上有 23.1%的人报告了口腔保健利用率。与配偶、家人和朋友没有消极关系的个体分别不太可能去看牙医的可能性降低了 31%、36%和 38%。行为文化适应程度较高的个体去看牙医的可能性增加了 4%；居住在唐人街的个体去看牙医的可能性降低了 45%；而认为自己有口腔健康需求的个体去看牙医的可能性增加了 2.5 倍。研究结果表明，理解社会关系、移民相关因素和感知的口腔健康需求在老年移民的口腔保健利用中非常重要。
