• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2023

Objectives: This study used the 2018 Korea Health Panel Survey data to analyze factors affecting employment status and income relating to unmet dental and medical care needs. Additionally it investigated measures to reduce oral health inequality among various socioeconomic classes. Methods: Descriptive statistics for the subjects' unmet dental and medical care needs were calculated through chi-square test analysis, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors affecting the unmet dental and medical care needs. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated for each level. These data were analyzed using STATA 17.0 SE (64-bit) version, and the statistical significance level was set to p<0.05. Results: As a result of unmet dental and medical care needs according to general characteristics, the lower the education level (p<0.001), the higher the age (p<0.001) and the lower the household equalization income (p<0.024) and the smoker status (p<0.003) were, respectively. Factors that have a statistically significant impact on unmet dental and medical care needs were divorce, separation and bereavement (p<0.001) in individuals than in married persons, and being smokers than non-smokers (p<0.009). The frequency of unmet dental and medical care needs were found to be lower in the cases of a high school graduate than an elementary school graduate (p<0.018), and of higher household equalization income (p<0.001) than the lowest household equalization income, respectively. Conclusions: It was found that various factors such as age, education level, household equalization income, employment status, type of working hours type, and smoking status affect unmet dental and medical care needs.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.485-492
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to unmet dental care needs among Korean youth, enhance the utilization of dental services by adolescents, furnish basic data for youth-oriented dental projects, and improve access to medical care. Methods: The analysis utilized combined data from the basic and oral databases from the 6th (2013-2015), 7th (2016-2018), and 1st year of the 8th (2019) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results: The factors influencing unmet dental care needs were gender, age, household income level, and health insurance. Statistically significant results were observed in relation to the type of dental clinic, recent visits to a dental hospital, experiences of toothache within the past year, subjective oral health status, occurrences of permanent dental caries, and engagement in orthodontic treatment. Conclusions: When formulating future national policies and projects, it is imperative to consider the factors and underlying reasons for the unmet dental care needs of adolescents. It is also necessary to establish oral health policies and institutional measures tailored to the dental care of adolescents.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.182-187
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• 2018

As the elderly population increases, they are increasingly affected by oral health problems. Therefore, efforts are being made to improve the oral health of older people, alleviate mental discomfort, and reduce unmet dental needs. This study was conducted to confirm the relationship between the National Health Insurance Elderly Denture Coverage and the unmet dental need for the edentulous elderly, as part of the protection policy. We analyzed the 2011 and 2013 Community Health Survey data of the edentulous elderly, aged 75 years or older, before 2012. In order to more precisely confirm the effects of the denture donation policy on unmet dental care, basic life recipients who were subject to the free elderly prosthetic project were excluded from the analysis. The final analysis included 20,400 subjects. According to our investigation of the factors that affect the unmet dental needs of the elderly, the National Health Insurance Elderly Denture Coverage did not affect unmet dental needs. The statistically significant variables that affected the unmet dental needs of the elderly were education and income levels, which are representative socioeconomic status variables. The lower the level of education, the unhealthier the dental care experience, and income levels showed a similar tendency. The elderly who have a low socioeconomic status are more likely to experience unmet dental needs because they lack the knowledge and socioeconomic ability to pay for dental care. Therefore, the policy for health protection of the entire elderly population should be continuously expanded. In addition, the socioeconomically vulnerable groups may have health problems due to the restriction of medical use, which may lead to quality of life deterioration.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.117-129
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics and oral health status on unmet dental needs among preschool children and to provide a basis for improvement of the dental care equality and accessibility using data from the $6^{th}$ National Health and Nutrition Survey. Methods: This study was performed using data collected from the $6^{th}$ National Health and Nutrition Survey. The subjects were 1,472 out of 22,940 people, who participated in the survey and under went oral examination. IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 20.0) was used for statistical analyses based on the complex sampling design. Frequency analysis was performed to determine the distribution of unmet dental needs according to the characteristics of the subjects. The Rao-Scott ${\chi}^2$ test was performed to examine the relationship of unmet dental needs with general characteristics and health- and oral health-related variables. Relevant factors were determined using binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The factors that had statistically significant relations with unmet dental needs included age, medical insurance, household income, limited physical activity, history of dental caries in deciduous teeth, and subjective health status. Logistic regression analysis of complex samples was conducted to determine factors related to unmet dental needs. The results of analysis showed that limited physical activity and history of dental caries in deciduous teeth were related to unmet dental needs. Conclusions: The results show the factors affecting, and the reasons for, the unmet dental needs of preschool children. Future studies are needed to develop national projects and oral health education reforms to address inequalities in preschool children's dental care.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.809-817
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• 2020

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.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.243-256
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to determine and facilitate provisions for the unmet dental needs of Koreans, stratified by time, influencing factors, and research trends, through a systematic review of related published studies since 2006. Methods: this review focused on previous studies published between January 2006 and November 2019 that analyzed influencing the factors underlying the unmet dental needs of koreans. We followed the guidelines set for each phase of research and selected the final 32 studies that met the selection criteria for the analysis. Results: The number of studies has rapidly increased since 2015 (22 studies, 68.7%). the were 68.9% in 2006, 25.9% in 2009, 41.3% in 2010- 2012, and 33.3% in 2013-2015 for adults and 27.9% in 2010, 24.6% in 2015, and 16.1% in 2017 for the rates of older adults. the rates of unmet dental needs related to economic factors, were 38.6% in 2006, 41.4% in 2007-2009, and 35.9% in 2013-2015 for adults and 50.5% in 2010 and 41.2% in 2015 for the older adults. There were common influencing factors for unmet dental needs. the rate of unmet dental needs was increased by with female gender, younger age, single marital status, low family income, low educational level, worsened subjective health condition, and the presence of chronic diseases. Conclusions: Standardized studies with more accurate definitions and assessment tools are required. however, our study emphasizes the need for a policy intervention that accounts for the characteristics of subjects to reduce unmet dental needs.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.413-425
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• 2011

Purpose: This study conducted a survey on the elderly with physical debilities, who are in a medically vulnerable social class, to examine closely their demo-sociological characteristics, unmet needs, dental states, and living qualities and satisfaction levels relating to oral health and social supports to them, and also to prepare the basis for effective public medical policies and health improvement programs aimed at improving the quality of life for the elderly with physical debilities. Methods: Twenty-two elderly care facilities within Jeju Special Self-Government Province participated in the survey. Between 11 January and 5 March 2010, a total of 250 elderly persons(65 and over) with physical debilities were interviewed and their dental health was checked. Results: The results of the survey are as follows. The need for social support for dental care of the elderly with physical debilities was high in the medical institution-supported service (49.6%). The unmet needs for physical care were high in bathing (49.6%) and using public transportation (71.6%). More than half of these surveyed had ten or fewer teeth. The survey found that 31.6% of the participants experienced problems eating, due to poor dental health. Concerning quality of life, 30.5% of those surveyed experienced physical pain. Conclusion: In summary, the ages of the survey participants directly relates to the degree of behavioral debility experienced. The more debility a participant exhibits, the greater is the need for social support and dental care. The dental health of a participant directly relates to a higher quality of life. Good dental health of a participant translate to better quality of life. In light of the fact that the elderly with physical debilities suffer from a lack of accessibility to medical care and worse oral health than do other elderly persons, it is essential to increase accessibility to medical institutions that can provide such services as door to door dental care. Current insurance policies, funding for denture insurance, and free denture and denture-upgrade programs desperately need to be expanded. Therefore, to improve effectively the quality of life for the elderly with physical debilities civil dental medical resources should be encouraged to provide inclusive and prevention-focused medical care. In the public domain, door to door dental care services and cooperation with civil dental care resources need to be improved to increase impartial accessibility to dental medical institutions.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.49-64
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• 2022

This study aims to investigate unmet healthcare needs due to economic or non-economic difficulties among the elderly aged 65 or older. Using Korea Health Panel Survey (KHPS) data from 2018, the elderly are classified into one of four groups (health insurance subscribers, non-take-up, lower income relief, and medical aid recipients) based on their level of medical vulnerability. For hospital or dental care, the prevalence rates of unmet healthcare needs due to economic and non-economic difficulties are 12.6% and 10.6%, respectively. The prevalence rate of unmet healthcare needs due to economic difficulty in the medically vulnerable group was much higher than that of the non-vulnerable group-that is, health insurance subscribers. After controlling for other influential factors, medical vulnerability has a great impact on the prevalence rates of unmet healthcare needs due to economic difficulties. Compared to health insurance subscribers, the non-take-up, the lower relief, and the medical aid recipients are 1.4 times, 3.3 times, and 2.4 times more likely to experience unmet healthcare needs due to economic difficulty, respectively. The results of this study can provide important policy implications for securing essential healthcare resources for the elderly.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.768-783
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to analyze dental records performed through a dental hygiene process and provide basic data on clinical training education for dental hygienists. Methods : The dental hygiene records of 440 senior dental hygiene students in Y University from March 2005 to September 2008, were examined. The needs of the clients confirmed by the dental hygiene diagnosis was based on Human Need Theory. The client's needs and the number of visits were analyzed according to the general characteristics(gender, age). The contents of the dental hygiene implementation performed according to the needs were divided into dental hygiene care and oral health education. The dental hygiene evaluation was classified into 'Met of Goal', 'Partially Met of Goal', and 'Unmet of Goal' according to the dental hygiene diagnosis. Data analysis was performed for the Frequency statistics and a Fisher's exact test using SPSS 12.0K for Windows. Results : 1. The clients were mostly aged in their 20's(307 clients). 2. The dental hygiene care usually performed was 'Scaling' and 'Recommendation to visit a dental clinic', and the education performed was 'How to brush teeth'. The implementation result from the need to Freedom of Stress was as simple as 'Be careful when treating' and 'Explanation of medical treatment and tools'. 3. The dental hygiene evaluation showed a higher met rate in the field of education than in that of the dental hygiene care. The reason for unmet the goal was 'Lack of the client's efforts and they didn't visit dental clinic'. Conclusions : The search for a range of clients for dental hygiene process should be made through effective connections between the local community institutions and schools. It was suggested that they should be strength the practical exercises for clients suffering dental anxiety and stress in dental treatments. In addition, education and attempts to motivate the clients should be performed according to their characteristics.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.113-127
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• 2021

Purpose: This study examined health behaviors, use of health services, and depression among women who perform daytime and shift work in Korea, as well as factors related to depression. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using data from the 2018 data of the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data on women, 1,493 regular daytime workers and 322 shift workers, were analyzed. Results: Women shift workers (χ²=43.97, p<.001), had a lower education level (χ²=45.56, p<.001), and lower personal income (χ²=16.85, p=.030) than their daytime counterparts. A higher proportion of shift workers were unmarried (χ²=37.47, p<.001) and they typically worked fewer than 40 hours per week (χ²=69.94, p<.001). The depression score of shift workers was higher than that of daytime workers (t=2.85, p=.005). A higher proportion of shift workers also drank alcohol (χ²=6.49, p=.032) and smoked (χ²=30.79, p<.001). Over 8% of shift workers typically slept fewer than 5 hours per night (χ²=14.17, p=.024). It was confirmed that depression in women shift workers was affected by age, personal income, marital status, health status, and smoking status, in addition to cancer screening participation, unmet medical care needs, and unmet dental care needs. Conclusion: More attention should be given to the health needs of women working shifts. Health promotion programs specific for women shift workers are needed to improve their physical and mental health, encourage use of medical care services, and improve public health policies and systems.