Falquez Marite, Canessa-Rojas Adriana, Lanata-Flores Antonio, Espinoza-Carrasco Freddy, Cherrez-Ojeda Ivan, Robles-Velasco Karla, Faytong-Haro Marco, Reytor-González Claudia, Simancas-Racines Daniel
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondon, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Facultad de Investigación, Universidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Ecuador.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 8;25(1):94. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20800-6.
Dental services are often overlooked within healthcare systems, despite their critical role in overall health. Socioeconomic barriers and disparities in insurance coverage frequently limit access to oral care, particularly among vulnerable populations like older adults.
To examine the impact of different health insurance types on the frequency of dental consultations among Ecuadorian senior citizens, aiming to highlight gaps in access to care.
Using the 2009 National Survey of Health, Well-being, and Aging (SABE), which aims to determine the health and living conditions of older individuals, this study analyzed the health insurance status and dental service visits of 4,565 older adults in Ecuador. Binary logistic regression was employed to explore the association between insurance type and dental-care utilization.
In the sample, 76.50% of older adults had not visited a dentist in the past year. Insurance breakdown revealed 17.04% with general IESS, 9.59% with rural IESS, 2.23% with private insurance, 1.86% with ISSFA/ISSPOL, 1.86% with municipal insurance, and 69.66% were uninsured. Individuals with private insurance or ISSFA/ISSPOL insurance were 32% and 91% more likely, respectively, to seek oral care compared to those without these respective insurances. Conversely, uninsured individuals were 43% less likely to seek dental care than those with any type of insurance.
Health insurance significantly influences the frequency of dental consultations among Ecuadorian seniors, highlighting the need for policy interventions to ensure equitable access to oral care.
尽管牙科服务在整体健康中起着关键作用，但在医疗保健系统中往往被忽视。社会经济障碍和保险覆盖范围的差异常常限制了人们获得口腔护理的机会，尤其是在老年人等弱势群体中。
研究不同类型的健康保险对厄瓜多尔老年人牙科咨询频率的影响，旨在突出获得护理方面的差距。
本研究使用2009年全国健康、幸福与老龄化调查（SABE），该调查旨在确定老年人的健康和生活状况，分析了厄瓜多尔4565名老年人的健康保险状况和牙科服务就诊情况。采用二元逻辑回归来探讨保险类型与牙科护理利用之间的关联。
在样本中，76.50%的老年人在过去一年中没有看过牙医。保险分类显示，17.04%的人拥有一般的社会保障局（IESS）保险，9.59%的人拥有农村IESS保险，2.23%的人拥有私人保险，1.86%的人拥有社会保障和家庭福利研究所（ISSFA）/公共部门社会保障研究所（ISSPOL）保险，1.86%的人拥有市政保险，69.66%的人没有保险。与没有这些相应保险的人相比，拥有私人保险或ISSFA/ISSPOL保险的人寻求口腔护理的可能性分别高出32%和91%。相反，未参保者寻求牙科护理的可能性比任何类型保险的参保者低43%。
健康保险对厄瓜多尔老年人的牙科咨询频率有显著影响，突出了需要采取政策干预措施以确保公平获得口腔护理。
