Abstract
Background: The literature on the socioeconomic determinants of oral health inequalities is rather limited. Since oral health is an integral part of general health, the investigation of oral and general health inequalities becomes an important research topic. The recent economic crisis has aggravated the level of general and oral health in Greece and evidence on inequalities is interesting for policy guidelines. Objective: The purpose of the present study is to measure the magnitude of self reported oral health inequalities in relation to certain demographic and socio-economic indicators such as gender, age, education and income status. Methods: We launched a cross-sectional survey across urban and rural population in Greece and we selected a random sample of 1500 individuals consisting of three age groups: 15 - 18 years, 35 - 45 years, and 65 to 74 years old. Self-reported general and oral health were both recorded and analyzed by means of an ordinal scale ranging from 0 = worse health to 100 = perfect health. Likert-type of scale questions were further used to capture self assessments of oral health. Dental Inequalities were assessed with reference to the following socio-economic variables: age, education, and income levels. Results: Statistically significant oral health inequalities were identified among the socio-economic groups in Greece. Lower levels of oral health were associated with those confronting financial difficulties, the aged and the less educated. The Gini Coefficient for Oral Health Goral = 0.344 (s.d. = 0.0033) was higher in comparison to general health Ggeneral = 0.289 (s.d. = 0.0016) indicating the need for public health intervention in the area of oral health. Conclusions: The paper demonstrates the significance of socioeconomic inequalities in oral health in Greece.
Highlights
Over the last decades the European Commission, the WHO, the OECD and other international organizations have been expressing an increasing interest in assessing health inequalities among nations, regions and social groups
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the magnitude of oral health inequalities in Greece among Urban and Rural populations as well as among socioeconomic groups
In the first section we briefly review the current literature on the determinants of oral health inequalities
Summary
Over the last decades the European Commission, the WHO, the OECD and other international organizations have been expressing an increasing interest in assessing health inequalities among nations, regions and social groups. The public health literature has indicated that there are significant inequalities in both health and oral health among the European nations which are mainly attributable to social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors. At the Governance level the Open Method of Co-ordination was launched to facilitate the exchange of information on good practice among the Countries and improving at the same time the level of awareness for better policies towards greater efficiency and equity in the health and dental care systems. Objective: The purpose of the present study is to measure the magnitude of self reported oral health inequalities in relation to certain demographic and socio-economic indicators such as gender, age, education and income status. Results: Statistically significant oral health inequalities were identified among the socio-economic groups in Greece. Conclusions: The paper demonstrates the significance of socioeconomic inequalities in oral health in Greece
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