Abstract
BackgroundMexican immigrants in the United States suffer from poor oral health. The objective of the current study was to explore the utility of applying theory-based factors associated with seeking preventive dental care in a sample of Mexican American adults.MethodsData were collected from a cross-sectional survey of a sample of 157 people of Mexican origin (64% female; age 34 ± 11 years) recruited primarily from church congregations and lay community organizations in Central Indiana. Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction as the guiding framework, structural equation modeling was used to test factors associated with intention to seek preventive dental care.ResultsAttitude towards seeking preventive dental care (estimate = 0.37; p < .0001) and self-efficacy for seeking preventive dental care (estimate = 0.68; p < .0001) were associated with intention to seek preventive dental care. The association between dental beliefs and intention to seek preventive dental care was mediated by attitude and self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.26, p = .002), and the association between past behavior and intention to seek preventive dental care was mediated by self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.26, p = .003).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that interventions to increase preventive dental care seeking behavior among Mexican Americans should focus on changing attitudes toward seeking preventive dental care and on increasing self-efficacy to seek preventive dental care. Findings also support the use of interventions to influence dental beliefs.
Highlights
Mexican immigrants in the United States suffer from poor oral health
Positive and detrimental behaviors coexist to various degrees in Mexican American (MA), they often fail to engage in behaviors that promote good oral health, and they appear to over-engage in behaviors that are harmful [5, 6]
We propose that to better understand the barriers faced by MAs, the factors involved should be explicitly assembled under the umbrella of a health behavior model that facilitates conceptual characterization and practical measurement of the relevant attitudes, behaviors, and norms
Summary
Mexican immigrants in the United States suffer from poor oral health. The objective of the current study was to explore the utility of applying theory-based factors associated with seeking preventive dental care in a sample of Mexican American adults. Multiple reasons contribute to the complex scenario of oral health disparities affecting people of Mexican origin in the United States (US) (generically called MexicanAmericans (MAs) for simplicity in this manuscript). Compared to the general population, Hispanics have less access to health care, lower educational attainment, often lack health insurance, are more likely to live in poverty, and face cultural barriers that hinder their ability to navigate health care systems [7, 8]. These challenges place them at higher risk for oral health problems. MAs have often been reported to have worse oral health and the lowest use of dental care services compared to other Hispanic children and adolescents [9,10,11]
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