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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 30(1)

Quantitative analysis on dental utilisation in culturally and linguistically diverse mothers

Kanchan Marcus https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2457-4004 A * , Madhan Balasubramanian https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2798-5850 B C , Stephanie D. Short https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9215-3308 D and Woosung Sohn https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7486-9652 A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

B Flinders University, Health Care Management, College of Business, Government and Law, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

C The University of Sydney, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

D The University of Sydney, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

* Correspondence to: kanchan.marcus@sydney.edu.au

Australian Journal of Primary Health 30, PY23136 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY23136
Submitted: 25 July 2023  Accepted: 27 October 2023  Published: 7 December 2023

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) mothers are influential in children’s behaviours, yet little is known about this population. Furthermore, insufficient quantitative and context-based studies are available with CALD mothers and their access to oral health care. To address this gap, the study investigates oral health behaviours, psychological factors and remoteness area with dental utilisation in CALD mothers, within the NSW context.

Methods

Informed by middle-range theory and a CALD-specific rainbow model, the 2013 and 2015 NSW Adult Population Health Survey was analysed. Variables for CALD mothers included household structure, age and language spoken. Multivariable analysis was conducted with oral health behaviours, psychological and remoteness variables, with dental utilisation as the outcome.

Results

The sample was weighted (n = 190,283). In total, 39.8% did not have a dental visit, and older mothers (aged 36–55 years) sought more dental services than younger mothers (aged 18–35 years). Higher odds for treatment dental care (aOR 2.21, 95% CI 1.12–4.37) than prevention-oriented care were found. Mothers experiencing moderate levels of psychological distress (aOR 0.49, 95% CI 0.31–0.77), or residing in outer regional and remote regions (aOR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04–0.85) were less likely to utilise dental care.

Conclusion

Findings underline geographical issues in dental care utilisation and the need for integrated care for CALD mothers experiencing psychological distress, and to encourage uptake of preventive oral health care. Addressing cost barriers necessitates for universal health coverage. Multidisciplinary integration of healthcare services with improved primary sector collaboration between governments and healthcare providers, and the expansion to regional services are required for equity in CALD communities.

Keywords: access to primary care, dental health services, health disparities, health inequalities, oral health, population health, primary health care, psychological distress, vulnerable populations.

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