<i>Student Column</i>: Geospatially Illustrating Regional-Based Oral Health Disparities in Kentucky

Saman, Daniel M.; Johnson, Andrew O.; Arévalo, Oscar; Odoi, Agricola

doi:10.1177/003335491112600420

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(16 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, to date, very few studies have analyzed dental health (e.g., number of missing teeth) using geographical information techniques. Two of these studies revealed disparities in the distribution of dentists in Appalachian Kentucky counties, and oral health disparities measured by the percentage of adults with six or more permanent teeth removed. However, none of these studies directly evaluated the relationship between dental workforce availability and dental services utilization.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental workforce availability and dental services utilization in Appalachia: a geospatial analysis

Feng

Sambamoorthi

Wiener

2016

Comm Dent Oral Epid

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives There is considerable variation in dental services utilization across Appalachian counties, and a plausible explanation is that individuals in some geographical areas do not utilize dental care due to dental workforce shortage. We conducted an ecological study on dental workforce availability and dental services utilization in Appalachia. Methods We derived county-level (n = 364) data on demographic, socio-economic characteristics and dental services utilization in Appalachia from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) using person-level data. We obtained county-level dental workforce availability and physician-to-population ratio estimates from Area Health Resource File, and linked them to the county-level BRFSS data. The dependent variable was the proportion using dental services within the last year in each county (ranging from 16.6% to 91.0%). We described the association between dental workforce availability and dental services utilization using ordinary least squares regression and spatial regression techniques. Spatial analyses consisted of bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). Results Bivariate LISA showed that counties in the central and southern Appalachian regions had significant (p < .05) low-low spatial clusters (low dental workforce availability, low percent dental services utilization). GWR revealed considerable local variations in the association between dental utilization and dental workforce availability. In the multivariate GWR models, 8.5% (t-statistics >1.96) and 13.45% (t-statistics >1.96) of counties showed positive and statistically significant relationships between the dental services utilization and workforce availability of dentists and dental hygienists, respectively. Conclusions Dental workforce availability was associated with dental services utilization in the Appalachian region; however, this association was not statistically significant in all counties. The findings suggest that program and policy efforts to improve dental services utilization need to focus on factors other than increasing the dental workforce availability for many counties in Appalachia.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental workforce availability and dental services utilization in Appalachia: a geospatial analysis

Feng

Sambamoorthi

Wiener

2016

Comm Dent Oral Epid

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There have been many GIS‐based studies in dental public health since the 1960s. These have covered a wide range of topics, including: dentist to patient ratios and payments; service usage and access to services and amenities; spatial variations in oral health outcomes; dental workforce numbers and utilization rates; the spatial patterning of dental services; the effects of interventions; and contextual level influences on oral health …”

Section: Where Are We Now?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such work has allowed researchers and dental public health practitioners to understand the role of spatial variation (or “place”) in: differences in dentist to patient ratios and associated payments; dental service usage by school children; access to dental services; oral cancer; dental trauma; tooth decay; dentist shortages and areas in need of new facilities; dental workforce numbers and potential shortfalls; the clustering of dental services based on location quotients; and the effects of interventions on children's oral health; as well as important contextual level pathways to oral health outcomes and the effects of a number of neighbourhood‐based features …”

Section: Where Are We Now?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been many GIS-based studies in dental public health since the 1960s. These have covered a wide range of topics, including: dentist to patient ratios and payments 14,15 ; service usage and access to services and amenities 9,[16][17][18][19][20] ; spatial variations in oral health outcomes 10,21,22 ; dental workforce numbers and utilization rates [23][24][25] ; the spatial patterning of dental services [26][27][28][29] ; the effects of interventions 30 ; and contextual level influences on oral health. [31][32][33] These studies have used many different GIS-related methods, including: the use of concentric circles, 14,15 which indicate the radii from a defined point for a certain phenomenon (eg, service coverage); Voronoi polygons, 16 whose boundaries define areas closest to a given point, relative to all other points; the use of Census and deprivation data to distinguish areas based on sociodemographic characteristics [16][17][18][19] ; buffer zones used to delineate the coverage areas of services 18,19 ; Euclidean (or straight line) distances between locations 18 ; transportation times and station locations 26,27 ; thematic mapping of oral health 10,21,22 ; point based location data to compare the locations of dental services to social phenomena 9,[17][18]…”

Section: Gis Studies and Dental Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[31][32][33] These studies have used many different GIS-related methods, including: the use of concentric circles, 14,15 which indicate the radii from a defined point for a certain phenomenon (eg, service coverage); Voronoi polygons, 16 whose boundaries define areas closest to a given point, relative to all other points; the use of Census and deprivation data to distinguish areas based on sociodemographic characteristics [16][17][18][19] ; buffer zones used to delineate the coverage areas of services 18,19 ; Euclidean (or straight line) distances between locations 18 ; transportation times and station locations 26,27 ; thematic mapping of oral health 10,21,22 ; point based location data to compare the locations of dental services to social phenomena 9,[17][18][19]28 ; human cartograms, which depict geographical areas relative to a given variable other than land mass 28 ; geographical data on interventions 30 ; and the study of nested geographical data through multilevel modelling. [31][32][33] Such work has allowed researchers and dental public health practitioners to understand the role of spatial variation (or "place") in: differences in dentist to patient ratios and associated payments 14,15 ; dental service usage by school children 16 ; access to dental services 9,[17][18][19]29 ; oral cancer 10 ; dental trauma 21 ; tooth decay 22 ; dentist shortages and areas in need of new facilities 20 ; dental workforce numbers …”

Section: Gis Studies and Dental Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Application of geographic information systems and simulation modelling to dental public health: Where next?

Broomhead

Ballas

Baker

2018

Comm Dent Oral Epid

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Public health research in dentistry has used geographic information systems since the 1960s. Since then, the methods used in the field have matured, moving beyond simple spatial associations to the use of complex spatial statistics and, on occasions, simulation modelling. Many analyses are often descriptive in nature; however, and the use of more advanced spatial simulation methods within dental public health remains rare, despite the potential they offer the field. This review introduces a new approach to geographical analysis of oral health outcomes in neighbourhoods and small area geographies through two novel simulation methods—spatial microsimulation and agent‐based modelling. Spatial microsimulation is a population synthesis technique, used to combine survey data with Census population totals to create representative individual‐level population datasets, allowing for the use of individual‐level data previously unavailable at small spatial scales. Agent‐based models are computer simulations capable of capturing interactions and feedback mechanisms, both of which are key to understanding health outcomes. Due to these dynamic and interactive processes, the method has an advantage over traditional statistical techniques such as regression analysis, which often isolate elements from each other when testing for statistical significance. This article discusses the current state of spatial analysis within the dental public health field, before reviewing each of the methods, their applications, as well as their advantages and limitations. Directions and topics for future research are also discussed, before addressing the potential to combine the two methods in order to further utilize their advantages. Overall, this review highlights the promise these methods offer, not just for making methodological advances, but also for adding to our ability to test and better understand theoretical concepts and pathways.

show abstract

Visualizing the Geography of HIV Observational Cohorts With Density-Adjusted Cartograms

Sack

Gange

Althoff

et al. 2022

JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Student Column: Geospatially Illustrating Regional-Based Oral Health Disparities in Kentucky

Cited by 9 publications

References 17 publications

Dental workforce availability and dental services utilization in Appalachia: a geospatial analysis

Dental workforce availability and dental services utilization in Appalachia: a geospatial analysis

Application of geographic information systems and simulation modelling to dental public health: Where next?

Visualizing the Geography of HIV Observational Cohorts With Density-Adjusted Cartograms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About