Addressing disparities in oral disease in Aboriginal people in Victoria: where to focus preventive programs
Jacqueline M. Martin-Kerry A F , Martin Whelan B , John Rogers C , Anil Raichur B C , Deborah Cole B and Andrea M. de Silva D E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Health Sciences, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
B Dental Health Services Victoria, 720 Swanston Street, Carlton, Vic. 3053, Australia.
C Department of Health & Human Services, 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Vic. 3000, Australia.
D Worksafe Victoria, 1 Malop Street, Geelong, Vic. 3220, Australia.
E School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Vic. 3004, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: jackie.martin-kerry@york.ac.uk
Australian Journal of Primary Health 25(4) 317-324 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY18100
Submitted: 27 June 2018 Accepted: 14 June 2019 Published: 3 October 2019
Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine where Aboriginal people living in Victoria attend public oral health services; whether they access Aboriginal-specific or mainstream services; and the gap between dental caries (tooth decay) experience in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Analysis was undertaken on routinely collected clinical data for Aboriginal patients attending Victorian public oral health services and the distribution of Aboriginal population across Victoria. Approximately 27% of Aboriginal people attended public oral health services in Victoria across a 2-year period, with approximately one in five of those accessing care at Aboriginal-specific clinics. In regional Victoria, 6-year-old Aboriginal children had significantly higher levels of dental caries than 6-year-old non-Aboriginal children. There was no significant difference in other age groups. This study is the first to report where Aboriginal people access public oral health care in Victoria and the disparity in disease between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal users of the Victorian public oral healthcare system. Aboriginal people largely accessed mainstream public oral healthcare clinics highlighting the importance for culturally appropriate services and prevention programs to be provided across the entire public oral healthcare system. The findings will guide development of policy and models of care aimed at improving the oral health of Aboriginal people living in Victoria.
Additional keywords: dental caries, Indigenous, oral health, public oral health care, Torres Strait Islander.
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