Changes in socioeconomic inequalities in the use of dental care following major healthcare reform in Chile, 2004-2009
Cornejo-Ovalle, Marco (Universidad de Chile)
Paraje, Guillermo (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez)
Vásquez-Lavín, Felipe (Universidad de Concepción)
Pérez Albarracín, Glòria (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Palència, Laia (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Borrell i Thió, Carme (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Data:	2015
Resum:	The study examines changes in the distribution and socioeconomic inequalities of dental care utilization among adults after the major healthcare reform in Chile, 2004-2009. We evaluated the proportion of people who visited the dentist at least once in the previous two years, and the mean number of visits. These outcome variables were stratified by sex, age (20-39, 40-59, 60-63; ≥64 years), educational level (primary, secondary, higher), type of health insurance (public, private, uninsured), and socioeconomic status (quintiles of an asset-index). We also used the concentration index (CIndex) to assess the extent of socioeconomic inequalities in the use of dental care, stratified by age and sex as a proxy for dental care needs. The use of dental care significantly increased between 2004 and 2009, especially in those with public health insurance, with lower educational level and lower socioeconomic status. The CIndex for the total population significantly decreased both for the proportion who used dental care, and also the mean number of visits. Findings suggest that the use of dental care increased and socioeconomic-related inequalities in the utilization of dental care declined after a Major Health Reform, which included universal coverage for some dental cares in Chile. However, efforts to ameliorate these inequalities require an approach that moves beyond a sole focus on rectifying health coverage.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Access ; Chile ; Health guarantee ; Insurance ; Oral health care ; Social inequalities ; Utilization
Publicat a:	International journal of environmental research and public health, Vol. 12 Núm. 3 (april 2015) , p. 2823-2836, ISSN 1660-4601

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120302823
PMID: 25749319

14 p, 694.1 KB

El registre apareix a les col·leccions:
Documents de recerca > Documents dels grups de recerca de la UAB > Centres i grups de recerca (producció científica) > Ciències de la salut i biociències > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Articles de recerca
Articles > Articles publicats