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Acculturation and a Potential Relationship with Oral Health Outcomes Among Somali Refugees in Massachusetts.
- Source :
-
Journal of immigrant and minority health [J Immigr Minor Health] 2018 Apr; Vol. 20 (2), pp. 351-359. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- This paper explores the relationship between acculturation and oral health in a study of Somali refugees. This cross-sectional survey included structured surveys and dental examinations of a convenience sample of 439 Somali adults living in Massachusetts. Associations between an acculturation scale and: (1) lifetime history of caries and (2) access to oral health services were calculated. In bivariate analyses, many individual questions in the scale were associated with outcomes. In multivariate analysis, speaking English (OR 0.5, CI 0.28-0.84) was associated with better access to, and utilization of, dental health services while reading American books and newspapers in English was associated with increased lifetime history of dental disease (OR 2.6, CI 1.1-6.0). As specific elements of acculturation have different relationships with oral health among Somali refugees, a summary acculturation scale may have limited utility. Ongoing efforts to remove language barriers may improve oral health.
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dental Care statistics & numerical data
Dental Caries ethnology
Female
Health Services Accessibility statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Massachusetts epidemiology
Middle Aged
Oral Hygiene statistics & numerical data
Sex Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Somalia ethnology
Young Adult
Acculturation
Oral Health ethnology
Refugees statistics & numerical data
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1557-1920
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of immigrant and minority health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 28861739
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0650-0