American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume 51, Issue 6, 2016, Pages 939-946

Acculturation and Dental Service Use Among Asian Immigrants in the U.S (Article)

Luo H. , Wu B.*
  • a Department of Public Health, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, United States
  • b Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York, New York, United States

Abstract

Introduction The objective of this study was to assess dental service utilization across different Asian immigrant groups and to examine the relationship between acculturation and dental service utilization among Asian immigrants in the U.S. Methods Data were from the 2013 and 2014 National Health Interview Surveys. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the association between acculturation and having a dental visit in the previous 12 months, controlling for predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Acculturation was measured by length of stay in the U.S., English language proficiency, and U.S. citizenship. The sample was 2,948 adult Asian immigrants who were dentate. Data were analyzed in 2016. Results Dental service utilization varied across Asian immigrant groups. High English proficiency and longer length of stay were significantly associated with having a dental visit (p<0.05). In the final model, after adding enabling factors—dental insurance and family income levels—length of stay in the U.S. (≥5 years) remained significant, whereas English language proficiency was not a significant correlate of having a dental visit. Conclusions Length of stay in the U.S. is a significant factor affecting dental service utilization among Asian immigrants. © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

immigrant English (language) insurance multivariate logistic regression analysis human middle aged Asian continental ancestry group statistics and numerical data controlled study Aged length of stay Dental Health Services dental procedure interview United States Young Adult Humans migrant Adolescent model male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation female cultural factor adult human experiment utilization family income citizenship public health

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84996477516&doi=10.1016%2fj.amepre.2016.07.041&partnerID=40&md5=2dd9e555dd2ddc83559e88d9c9317291

DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.07.041
ISSN: 07493797
Cited by: 6
Original Language: English