The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65412

Sharon L. Telleen, PhD¹, Young O. Kim, DrPH¹, and William Hall, DDS, MPH². (1) Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison Street (M/C 312), Chicago, IL 60607, (312)413-8391, telleen@uic.edu, (2) School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 555 Balsam Lane, Palatine, IL 600067

A Maternal and Child Health Bureau study of child health service utilization by Latino families examined the predictors of oral health service use by 320 Mexican-American and Puerto Rican families in a midwestern city. The study examined the barriers of social context, ethnicity and dental service availabilitiy and delivery in three areas: age at first visit to the dentist; continuity of care; frequency of planned preventive visits. There were no significant ethnic differences in use of dental services when controlling for income, education and age of mother. The predictors of age of first visit to the dental was dental insurance, condition of the child's teeth and the mothers' belief in the importance of dental care during the preschool years. The frequency of planned dental visits is predicted by dental insurance, social norms, and condition of the child's teeth. Finally, continuity of care is predicted by dental insurance, weekday evening office hours, and satisfaction with provider communication.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to:
• Articulate the predictors of health service utilization for Latino children for child's age at first dental visit; the planned frequency of routine, preventive dental care; and the continuity of care with the same provider.
• Describe the unique role of the provider in communication with Latino patients and continuity of care.
• Articulate the methodology of identifying predictors of service utilization by a low-income Latino population within a specified geographic area.

Keywords: Access and Services, Hispanic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.