Abstract
Abstract
Background
Oral diseases pose a significant public health challenge among Peruvian children. However, oral health services utilization among them is marked by inequalities, which may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to compare the frequency, inequalities, determinants of inequality, and spatial distribution in oral health services utilization in Peruvian children under 12 years of age in 2017 and 2021.
Methods
Comparative secondary data analysis from the Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES) for the years 2017 (38,787 minors) and 2021 (36,729 minors). Age-adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the change in oral health services utilization in the last 12 months between the years 2017 and 2021, stratifying by demographic and socioeconomic covariates. Inequality was assessed by decomposing the Erreygers Concentration Index (ECI) and calculating the percentage contribution to inequality of the independent variables. Spatial analysis was performed using spatial autocorrelation methods, Hot Spot Analysis, Cluster and Outlier analysis, Inverse Distance Weighting, ordinary Kriging, and Kulldorff analysis.
Results
The probability of Peruvian children under 12 years of age using oral health services in the last 12 months was reduced by 45% in 2021 compared to 2017. The ECI identified a significant reduction in oral health services utilization inequalities at the national level (Diff: -0.0963; p < 0.001). The main contributor to inequality was higher tutor education level (55.2% in 2017 and 82.7% in 2021). In the comparison of spatial distribution, there was a greater dispersion of the conglomerates in which the use of oral health services is concentrated in 2021.
Conclusions
The frequency of oral health services utilization in the Peruvian children under 12 years of age was halved between 2017 and 2021. This problem is transversal to the entire population at the demographic and socioeconomic level. The key factor contributing to inequalities in the utilization of oral health services was the higher educational attainment of caregivers or guardians. Despite the improvement observed in inequalities and spatial distribution of the concentration of oral health services utilization, it is necessary to keep monitoring these patterns to guide decision-making.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference52 articles.
1. Peres MA, Macpherson LMD, Weyant RJ, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur MR, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. Lancet. 2019;394:249–60.
2. World Health Organization. Global oral health status report: towards universal health coverage for oral health by 2030. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022.
3. Kassebaum NJ, Smith AGC, Bernabé E, Fleming TD, Reynolds AE, Vos T, et al. Global, Regional, and National Prevalence, Incidence, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for Oral Conditions for 195 Countries, 1990–2015: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors. J Dent Res. 2017;96:380–7.
4. Singh A, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Socio-Economic Inequalities in Oral Health. In: Peres MA, Antunes JLF, Watt RG, editors. Oral Epidemiology. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2021. p. 279–94.
5. World Health Organization. Oral health. 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health. Accessed 24 Feb 2023.
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献