19
Volume2 Issue8
|
I
ssues and
P
eople
Whathypothesisdidyouwant to
examine?
TheAlbertaHealthBenefit programsprovide
low-incomeAlbertanswithpremium-free
coverage for prescriptiondrugs anddental,
optical andemergencyambulance services
toensure their optimal healthandwell-
being.
Whileclients agreed that theprograms
helped themor their childrenobtain
neededdental services, onlyhalf of them
reported that their youngest childhad
receivedat least onedental service in the
last year, according toour previous report
published in
JCDA
in2011.
1
Childrenaged
4yearsor youngerwereeven less likely to
have receivedanyof several specificdental
services than theolder agegroups.We
conducted this cross-sectional study to
explore thebarriers toutilizationof dental
services coveredby theAlbertaHealth
Benefit programs for youngchildren.
Whatare thekeyfindingsof your
study?
We found some improvements in terms
of usageas compared to the2011 report;
however, about 35%of thechildren
included in the studyhadnot receivedany
covereddental services (non-users). The
most common reasongivenwas absence
of need (51%), followedbyperceived
insufficient coverage (39%).Wealsoasked
users about thedifficulties they faced, and
themost commonly reportedchallengewas
insufficient coverage (41%).
Were thesefindingssurprisingor
somewhatexpected?
“Noperceivedneed” hasbeen repeatedly
reportedas themain reason for not seeking
dental care for children. It is acommonbelief
among low-income families that professional
healthcare isonly requiredwhenaproblem
arises. As a result, theyplace less valueon
preventive servicesprovidedbydental
professionals. Similarly,we founda lowusage
of preventive services inour study. Only34%
of children receivedfluorideapplications
and14%had sealants, even though these
serviceswerecoveredby theprograms. Our
findingswere thereforeveryconsistentwith
previous reports.
Whatare thenext steps?
This reportwasbasedona surveyused
previously inother similar studies. A further
qualitativeexplorationof barriers from
patients’, providers’, andpolicymakers’
Barriers toUtilizationofDentalServices
for Children among Low-Income Families
inAlberta
ResearchersfromAlberta recently explored the reasons behind the underutilization of the dental services coveredby
the province’s publicly funded programs, hoping that abetterunderstanding of the barriers preventing young children
fromaccessing carewill lead tomore effective oral health promotion interventions.We discussed the studywith
Dr.MaryamAmin, associate professor andhead of the division of pediatric dentistryat theUniversity ofAlberta.
MaryamS.Amin
DMD,MSc,PhD
ArnaldoPerez
BSc,MSc
PawanNyachhyon
DDS
The importance of an earlydental examinationand preventivemeasures,
bothhome- and office-based,must be emphasizedwith young families and
expectant parents by the dental andmedical professionals at thefrontline of
health care for young children.
