Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene (한국치위생학회지)

Korean Society of Dental Hygiene (한국치위생학회)
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Socio-economic factors affecting unmet dental care in the elderly: a comparative study on the status of living alone

한국노인의 미충족치과의료 경험에 영향을 미치는 사회경제적 요인 : 독거여부에 따른 비교연구

  • Kim, Young-Sil (Department of Dental Hygiene, Kyungbok University) ;
  • Seo, Hye-Won (Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Hanyang University)
  • Received : 2020.08.24
  • Accepted : 2020.10.13
  • Published : 2020.12.30
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Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the unmet dental care needs of the living alone and living with family elderly groups to confirm the differences in their influence. Methods: Data from the Korea Health Panel Study of 2016 were used to analyze a total of 4,987 individuals: 4,008 in living with family group and 979 in living alone group. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS Version 22 (p<0.05). Results: We observed that 16.5% and 28.3% of the participants from the living with family and living alone groups had unmet dental care needs, respectively, indicating that the living alone group had more unmet dental care needs. Income level, residential area, and healthcare security were significant factors related to the living with family group. In contrast, medical aid for healthcare security was a significant factor related to the living alone group (p<0.05). Conclusions: The results confirmed that socioeconomic factors that affect unmet dental care vary according to the living situation. Therefore, the government should identify the number of elderly individuals living alone, which is increasing annually. These individuals are vulnerable in almost all aspects, and the government should establish and implement appropriate oral healthcare policies to support them.

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References

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