The cost-effectiveness of a two-step blood pressure screening programme in a dental health-care setting.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is one of the largest contributors to the disease burden and a major economic challenge for health-care systems. Early detection of persons with high blood pressure can be achieved through screening and has the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality. We evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an opportunistic hypertension screening programme in a dental-care facility for individuals aged 40-75 in comparison to care as usual (the no-screening baseline scenario). METHODS: A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) was carried out from the payer and societal perspectives, and the short-term (from screening until diagnosis has been established) cost per identified case of hypertension and long-term (20 years) cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) were reported. Data on the short-term cost were based on a real-world screening programme in which 2025 healthy individuals were screened for hypertension. Data on the long-term cost were based on the short-term outcomes combined with modelling in a Markov cohort model. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were carried out to assess uncertainty. RESULTS: The short-term analysis showed an additional cost of 4,800 SEK (€470) per identified case of hypertension from the payer perspective and from the societal perspective 12,800 SEK (€1,240). The long-term analysis showed a payer cost per QALY of 2.2 million SEK (€210,000) and from the societal perspective 2.8 million SEK per QALY (€270,000). CONCLUSION: The long-term model results showed that the screening model is unlikely to be cost-effective in a country with a well-developed health-care system and a relatively low prevalence of hypertension.

Postponed Dental Appointments Due to Costs Are Associated with Increased Loneliness-Evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

As is already well known, demographic changes will presumably lead to a rising number of old aged individuals and loneliness is a tremendous concern in aging populations. Poor health can be a potential consequence of loneliness, as well as a determining factor. Thus, the objective of the current study was to determine whether postponed dental appointments due to costs affect loneliness longitudinally. Focusing on Germany, data from two waves (waves 5 and 6) of the "Survey of Health Ageing, and Retirement in Europe" (SHARE) were analyzed (n = 7703). The three-item loneliness scale (modified version of the revised UCLA Loneliness scale) was used to quantify loneliness. The presence of postponed dental appointments due to costs in the past 12 months (no; yes) served as a key independent variable. Socioeconomic factors as well as health-related factors were adjusted in the longitudinal regression analysis. After adjusting for confounding variables, regression analyses revealed that loneliness increased with decreases in self-rated health among men. Among women, loneliness increased when self-rated health decreased, when fewer chronic diseases and postponed dental appointments due to costs were reported. Among older women, postponed dental appointments due to costs are associated with feelings of loneliness. The study results add evidence that proper dental care (i.e., regular and appropriate visits to the dentist) is vital not only to one's oral health, but also plays a role in one's physical and emotional health.

Pricing in commercial dental insurance and provider markets.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of commercial dental insurer and provider concentration on dentist reimbursement. DATA SOURCES: We utilized provider data from the American Dental Association, reimbursement data from IBM Watson MarketScan® Commercial Research Databases, submitted billed charges from FAIR Health® , dental insurance market concentration data from FAIR Health® , and county-level demographic and economic data from the Area Health Resources File and the Council for Community and Economic Research. STUDY DESIGN: We used the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to separately measure commercial dental insurance concentration and dentist concentration. We studied the effect of provider and insurance concentration on dentist reimbursement. Using two-stage least squares, we accounted for potential endogeneity in dental insurer and provider concentration. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Across the dental procedures we examined, a 10 percent increase in dental insurance concentration is associated with a 1.95 percent (P-value = .033) reduction in gross payments to dentists. Conversely, a 10 percent increase in dentist concentration is associated with a more modest 0.71 percent (P-value = .024) increase in gross payments. A 10 percent increase in dental insurance concentration is associated with a 1.16 percentage point (P-value = .016) decline in the allowed-to-list price ratio, while a 10 percent increase in dentist concentration is associated with a 0.56 percentage point (P-value = .001) increase in the allowed-to-list price ratio. Similar patterns were found across dental procedure subcategories. CONCLUSIONS: Dental provider markets are substantially less concentrated than insurance markets, which may limit the ability of dentists to garner higher reimbursement.

Assessment of the Economic and Health-Care Impact of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) on Public and Private Dental Surgeries in Spain: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is an ongoing public health challenge, also for the dentistry community. The main objective of this paper was to determine the economic and health-care impact of COVID-19 on dentists in the Autonomous Region of Galicia (Spain). METHODS: This was a descriptive observational study in which the data was collected by means of a self-administered survey (from 1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020). RESULTS: A total of 400 dentists from Galicia responded to the survey. Only 12.3% of the participants could obtain personal protective equipment (PPE) including FFP2 masks. Of the male respondents, 33.1% suffered losses >€15,000 compared to 19.4% of female respondents (OR = 3.121, p < 0.001). Economic losses seem to have contributed to the applications for economic help as 29.5% of the respondents who applied for this measure recorded losses in excess of €15,000 (p = 0.03). Patients complained more about the fact that only emergency care was available during the State of Alarm, in dental surgeries that do not work with insurance companies or franchises. Only 4 professionals tested positive, 50% of whom worked exclusively in private practice and the other 50% who practised in both private and public surgeries. Dentists who practise in the public sector saw more urgent patients per week than those practising in private surgeries (p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has had economic repercussions in dentistry as only urgent treatment was available during the State of Alarm. These repercussions seem to be higher in male participants, as the majority of the participants have revealed higher economic losses than females. The level of assistance has also been affected, reducing the number of treated patients, although this quantity has been different in private and public surgeries. By presenting these findings we look to highlight the role that dentists play in society in treating dental emergencies in our surgeries, and this must be recognised and addressed by the relevant authorities, who must provide PPEs as a priority to this group as well as providing special economic aid in accordance with the losses incurred by the sector.

Oral health policymaking challenges in Iran: a qualitative approach.

BACKGROUND: As the strategies proposed for oral health improvement in developed countries are not adapted for developing ones, this study aimed to identify the challenges of oral health policy implementation in Iran as a low-income developing country. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in 2019 in Iran as a middle-eastern developing country. The study population consisted of experts who had experience in oral health and were willing to participate in the study. Snowball sampling was used to select 12 participants for semi-structured interviews and saturation was achieved after 16 interviews. Guba and Lincoln criteria including credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability were used to determine reliability and transparency, and finally a five-step framework analysis method was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The analysis of the interviews resulted in identification of 7 main themes that were categorized into 5 problems of policy implementation as proposed by the Matus framework. The main themes of executive and preventive challenges to implement oral health policies were categorized as organizational problems, the main themes of educational and resource challenges were situated as material problems, and the main themes of insurance, policy making and trusteeship challenges were considered as legal, policymaking and perspective. CONCLUSION: The implementation of oral health policies has faced some challenges. It seems that the national coverage of oral health and integration of these services in prevention and serious attention to the private sector can be considered as the most important strategies for achieving improved oral health in Iran.

Socioeconomic inequalities in use and non-use of dental services in Poland.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of classical socioeconomic factors on the use and non-use of dental services on a representative sample of Polish population. METHODS: The study was based on face-to-face surveys conducted by GUS (Statistics Poland) on 13,376 respondents in 2010 and 12,532 individuals in 2013. RESULTS: The percentage of people using dental services in the highest income group was approximately twice as high as that in the lowest one (Q1: 7.0% vs. Q5: 16.4%), with the same being true for education (the lowest education group: 8.3% vs. the highest education group: 18.0%), and place of residence (inhabitants of rural areas: 9.2% vs. inhabitants of largest cities: 15.9%) in 2013. The analysis has shown the disparities in not using dental services when in need to be less clear-cut. CONCLUSIONS: The conducted research, based on two independent periods, a representative population sample, univariate analysis and the multivariate regression model has revealed pronounced social inequalities in dental care use. It is a challenge to determine the factors which contribute most to health inequalities and the interventions which are most effective in reducing them.

Estimating Attribute-Specific Willingness-to-Pay Values from a Health Care Contingent Valuation Study: A Best-Worst Choice Approach.

BACKGROUND: Willingness-to-pay (WTP) studies frequently use a contingent valuation (CV) method to determine the economic value of a good or service. However, a typical CV study is able to estimate the WTP for a good as a whole, but provides no information about the marginal WTP for different attributes of a good. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to estimate marginal WTP for different attributes of a CV scenario. METHODS: By using the data from an additional best-worst choice (BWC) experiment, we disaggregated the holistic WTP values for dental care, estimated using the CV method, into attribute-specific WTP values. The study was conducted at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Dental school patients were surveyed from March 2016 to January 2017, and their WTP for dental care was estimated using either a CV survey (n = 242), which also included a BWC task, or a discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey (n = 275). RESULTS: The largest marginal welfare estimate (€13.5) was obtained for the improvement in treatment explanation, followed by the improvements in staff behavior (€8.1) and waiting time in the office (€7.2), and by the changes in dental care provider (€3.4). These estimates were generally highly similar to the traditional marginal WTP estimates obtained with a traditional multi-profile DCE, after adjusting DCE estimates for non-attendance to the cost attribute. CONCLUSION: Our BWC-CV framework may serve as a valuable alternative for estimating marginal WTP values for health care attributes when the choice behavior of respondents raises concerns for the validity of DCE estimates.

Determinants of Postponed Dental Visits Due to Costs: Evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Germany.

High costs are an important reason patients postpone dental visits, which can lead to serious medical consequences. However, little is known about the determinants of postponing visits due to financial constraints longitudinally. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of postponing dental visits due to costs in older adults in Germany longitudinally. Data from wave 5 and 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe was used. The occurrence of postponed dental visits due to costs in the last 12 months served as the outcome measure. Socioeconomic and health-related explanatory variables were included. Conditional fixed effects logistic regression models were used (n = 362). Regressions showed that the likelihood of postponing dental visits due to costs increased with lower age, less chronic disease, and lower income. The outcome measure was neither associated with marital status nor self-rated health. Identifying the factors associated with postponed dental visits due to costs might help to mitigate this challenge. In the long term, this might help to maintain the well-being of older individuals.

Factors affecting dental service utilisation among older Singaporeans eligible for subsidized dental care - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization has highlighted the paucity of research into the oral health needs of older adults. In Singapore, until recently, publically funded/subsidized oral health care for adults has been limited to basic primary care at government-funded polyclinics. Access to a more comprehensive range of subsidized care in the private sector was widened through the government-funded Community Health Assistance Scheme (CHAS) in 2012 and Pioneer Generation (PG) scheme in 2015. Little is known about the attitude to dental service utilization among older adults in Singapore since then. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 25 participants above 65 years of age who were eligible for subsidized dental care plans. Participants were recruited from a public teaching hospital and a public primary care clinic in Singapore. The duration of each interview was 15-30 min. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and the transcripts were analyzed thematically using a phenomenological approach. RESULTS: Pertinent themes emerged related to four major areas: (a) general awareness towards oral health, (b) life course perspective of oral health, (c) barriers to visit the dentist, (d) shaping dental service utilisation behaviours through provision of financial subsidies for dental care. Most participants perceived a strong relationship between oral health and systemic health. However, there were erroneous traditional beliefs such as oral health is not part of physical health and edentulous participants did not need to visit a dentist. Fear, anxiety, previous negative experience and lack of knowledge were barriers to visiting the dentist. Trust and convenience were considerations for patients when deciding whether to switch from public to private dental services where CHAS/PG were only available. CONCLUSION: Our study provided important insights regarding oral health perceptions and beliefs of older people residing in the community which may affect their dental service utilization. This further highlights the importance of understanding the concerns of this group when implementing healthcare policies for elderly in Singapore. The findings of our study will serve as a baseline for future studies in Singapore and inform studies in other countries that implement targeted schemes for older adults.

Cost-effectiveness of a high-intensity versus a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention in a dental setting: long-term follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of a high-intensity and a low-intensity smoking cessation treatment programme (HIT and LIT) using long-term follow-up effectiveness data and to validate the cost-effectiveness results based on short-term follow-up. DESIGN AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Intervention effectiveness was estimated in a randomised controlled trial as numbers of abstinent participants after 1 and 5-8 years of follow-up. The economic evaluation was performed from a societal perspective using a Markov model by estimating future disease-related costs (in Euro (€) 2018) and health effects (in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs)). Programmes were explicitly compared in an incremental analysis, and the results were presented as an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. SETTING: The study was conducted in dental clinics in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: 294 smokers aged 19-71 years were included in the study. INTERVENTIONS: Behaviour therapy, coaching and pharmacological advice (HIT) was compared with one counselling session introducing a conventional self-help programme (LIT). RESULTS: The more costly HIT led to higher number of 6-month continuous abstinent participants after 1 year and higher number of sustained abstinent participants after 5-8 years, which translates into larger societal costs avoided and health gains than LIT. The incremental cost/QALY of HIT compared with LIT amounted to €918 and €3786 using short-term and long-term effectiveness, respectively, which is considered very cost-effective in Sweden. CONCLUSION: CEA favours the more costly HIT if decision makers are willing to spend at least €4000/QALY for tobacco cessation treatment.

The relationship between private health plans and use of medical and dental health services in the Brazilian health system.

To describe the last place of medical and dental health service used in relation to private health plans, and examine the effect of being registered in the primary healthcare system through the Family Health Strategy (FHS). This was a cross-sectional study using data from Brazil's 2008 National Household Survey. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to analyze how a private health plan and enrollment in the FHS influenced the use of health services. Results showed that individuals with a private health plan tend to use medical and dental services more than individuals without such a plan. However, many individuals with a private health plan used public services or paid out-of-pocket services, mainly for dental care. Among individuals without a private plan, being enrolled in the FHS reduced the use of out-of-pocket private services, regardless of age, income or educational level. Enrollment in the FHS increased the chances of using public services, and the effect of this enrollment is greater among those who have a private plan. Policies to strengthen public primary healthcare and to expand the FHS should be encouraged within the universal health system.

The relationship between private health plans and use of medical and dental health services in the Brazilian health system / A relação entre planos privados de saúde e uso de serviços médicos e odontológicos no sistema de saúde brasileiro

Abstract To describe the last place of medical and dental health service used in relation to private health plans, and examine the effect of being registered in the primary healthcare system through the Family Health Strategy (FHS). This was a cross-sectional study using data from Brazil's 2008 National Household Survey. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to analyze how a private health plan and enrollment in the FHS influenced the use of health services. Results showed that individuals with a private health plan tend to use medical and dental services more than individuals without such a plan. However, many individuals with a private health plan used public services or paid out-of-pocket services, mainly for dental care. Among individuals without a private plan, being enrolled in the FHS reduced the use of out-of-pocket private services, regardless of age, income or educational level. Enrollment in the FHS increased the chances of using public services, and the effect of this enrollment is greater among those who have a private plan. Policies to strengthen public primary healthcare and to expand the FHS should be encouraged within the universal health system.

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever os locais usados na última visita a serviços médicos e odontológicos no Brasil em relação à posse de plano privados de saúde, e examinar o efeito de estar cadastrado na Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF). Este é um estudo transversal que utiliza dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Amostra Domiciliar (PNAD) de 2008 no Brasil. Regressão logística multinomial foi realizada para analisar a influência da posse de plano privado de saúde e o cadastro na ESF no uso do serviço de saúde. Os resultados mostraram que os indivíduos com plano de saúde tendem a usar mais os serviços médico-odontológicos do que indivíduos sem plano privado. Porém, muitos indivíduos com planos usam serviços públicos ou privados com pagamento direto, principalmente para serviços odontológicos. Dentre indivíduos sem plano, estar cadastrado na ESF reduziu as chances de uso de serviços privados com pagamento direto, independente de idade, renda e nível educacional. Estar cadastrado na ESF aumentou o uso de serviços públicos e o efeito foi mais forte dentre indivíduos com planos privados. Políticas para fortalecer a atenção primária à saúde e expandir a ESF devem ser incentivadas.

[Access to dental services and related factors: a home-based population study]. / Acesso aos serviços odontológicos e fatores associados: estudo populacional domiciliar.

The scope of this study was to identify factors associated with lack of access to dental services. It involved a cross-sectional study and a probabilistic complex sample by conglomerates in two stages with 857 participants over 18 years of age in a large city. Multiple analyses by means of logistic and multivariate regression in decision trees were made. The lack of access to dental services was considered a dependent variable. It was identified that 10.3% did not have access. In the multiple and multivariate analyses an association with age was verified and in the logistic regression a greater possibility of lack of access was found for each year of increased age, among those with the lowest per capita income and those who ranked appearance of teeth and gums as "fair/poor/very poor." The lack of access to dental services was greater among the most socially vulnerable. There is a pressing need to increase the allocation of public resources to promote health education and provide knowledge about how to access services when they are needed, focusing on dental care as a human right and ensuring that lack of access does not occur as users get older or among those with low income and also those dissatisfied with their oral appearance.

Objetivou-se identificar fatores associados à falta de acesso aos serviços odontológicos. Estudo transversal, amostra complexa probabilística por conglomerados em dois estágios de 857 participantes, com mais de 18 anos em um município de grande porte populacional. Foram feitas análises múltiplas através da regressão logística e multivariada em árvores de decisão. Considerou-se como variável dependente o acesso aos serviços odontológicos. Identificou-se que 10,3% não obtiveram acesso. Nas análises múltipla e multivariada constataram-se associação com a idade, na regressão logística constatou-se maior chance de falta de acesso a cada ano de idade incrementado, entre aqueles com menor renda per capita e entre os que classificaram a aparência dos dentes e gengivas como "regular/ruim/péssima". A falta de acesso aos serviços odontológicos é maior entre os mais vulneráveis socialmente. Há necessidade de incremento na alocação de recursos públicos que promovam educação em saúde e gere conhecimento sobre como acessar os serviços quando necessitar, tendo em foco os cuidados odontológicos como um direito humano e que possibilitem que não ocorra a falta de acesso à medida que os usuários envelhecem ou entre os com baixa renda e também os insatisfeitos com a aparência bucal.

How does priority setting for resource allocation happen in commissioning dental services in a nationally led, regionally delivered system: a qualitative study using semistructured interviews with NHS England dental commissioners.

OBJECTIVES: To understand approaches to priority setting for healthcare service resource allocation at an operational level in a nationally commissioned but regionally delivered service. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews and a Framework analysis. SETTING: National Health Service dentistry commissioning teams within subregional offices in England. PARTICIPANTS: All 31 individuals holding the relevant role (dental lead commissioner in subregional offices) were approached directly and from this 14 participants were recruited, with 12 interviews completed. Both male and female genders and all regions were represented in the final sample. RESULTS: Three major themes arose. First, 'Methods of priority setting and barriers to explicit approaches' was a common theme, specifically identifying the main methods as: perpetuating historical allocations, pressure from politicians and clinicians and use of needs assessments while barriers were time and skill deficits, a lack of national guidance and an inflexible contracting arrangements stopping resource allocation. Second, 'Relationships with key stakeholders and advisors' were discussed, showing the important nature of relationships with clinical advisors but variation in the quality of these relationships was noted. Finally, 'Tensions between national and local responsibilities' were illustrated, where there was confusion about where power and autonomy lay. CONCLUSIONS: Commissioners recognised a need for resource allocation but relied on clinical advice and needs assessment in order to set priorities. More explicit priority setting was prevented by structure of the commissioning system and standard national contracts with providers. Further research is required to embed and simplify adoption of tools to aid priority setting.

Acesso aos serviços odontológicos e fatores associados: estudo populacional domiciliar / Access to dental services and related factors: a home-based population study

Resumo Objetivou-se identificar fatores associados à falta de acesso aos serviços odontológicos. Estudo transversal, amostra complexa probabilística por conglomerados em dois estágios de 857 participantes, com mais de 18 anos em um município de grande porte populacional. Foram feitas análises múltiplas através da regressão logística e multivariada em árvores de decisão. Considerou-se como variável dependente o acesso aos serviços odontológicos. Identificou-se que 10,3% não obtiveram acesso. Nas análises múltipla e multivariada constataram-se associação com a idade, na regressão logística constatou-se maior chance de falta de acesso a cada ano de idade incrementado, entre aqueles com menor renda per capita e entre os que classificaram a aparência dos dentes e gengivas como "regular/ruim/péssima". A falta de acesso aos serviços odontológicos é maior entre os mais vulneráveis socialmente. Há necessidade de incremento na alocação de recursos públicos que promovam educação em saúde e gere conhecimento sobre como acessar os serviços quando necessitar, tendo em foco os cuidados odontológicos como um direito humano e que possibilitem que não ocorra a falta de acesso à medida que os usuários envelhecem ou entre os com baixa renda e também os insatisfeitos com a aparência bucal.

Abstract The scope of this study was to identify factors associated with lack of access to dental services. It involved a cross-sectional study and a probabilistic complex sample by conglomerates in two stages with 857 participants over 18 years of age in a large city. Multiple analyses by means of logistic and multivariate regression in decision trees were made. The lack of access to dental services was considered a dependent variable. It was identified that 10.3% did not have access. In the multiple and multivariate analyses an association with age was verified and in the logistic regression a greater possibility of lack of access was found for each year of increased age, among those with the lowest per capita income and those who ranked appearance of teeth and gums as "fair/poor/very poor." The lack of access to dental services was greater among the most socially vulnerable. There is a pressing need to increase the allocation of public resources to promote health education and provide knowledge about how to access services when they are needed, focusing on dental care as a human right and ensuring that lack of access does not occur as users get older or among those with low income and also those dissatisfied with their oral appearance.

The distribution of allied dental practitioners in australia: socio-economics and rurality as a driver of better health service accessibility.

OBJECTIVES: Analysis of the distribution of allied dental practitioners relative to the socio-economic profile of the population, to develop a baseline of employment demographics at a time of proposed deregulation of practicing restrictions. METHODS: A database of allied dental practitioners (ADP - oral health therapists, dental therapists and dental hygienists) was compiled from the public access register of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. The principal practice locations limited to suburb and postcode were geocoded by latitude and longitude and superimposed on a map of the Australian landmass using QGIS software. Using Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the number of ADPs for each Statistical Area 2 (SA2) was counted and apportioned according to proportion of the population within each SA2 for each quintile of the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD). The results were reported according to oral health therapists, dental therapists and dental hygienists per 100 000 population for each IRSD quintile, by state and territory, and the Australian Regional Index for Areas (ARIA+). RESULTS: The ADP to population ratio was not consistent for each professional class between states and territories, IRSD quintiles and (ARIA+) regional areas. Across major cities, South Australia was the state with the highest ratio of oral health therapists (10.6-12.9) and dental hygienists (14.6-24.5) for all IRSD quintiles. Western Australia had the highest ratio of dental therapists (9.3-16.0), CONCLUSION: There is no consistent pattern of distribution of ADPs relative to the socio-economic profile of the population across states and territories, and regional (ARIA+) areas of Australia.

Utilisation of Oral Health Services and Economic Burden of Oral Diseases in China.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of oral health services, the economic burden of oral diseases and related influential factors in China. METHOD: Using the multistage, stratified, equal proportion, random sampling method in the 4th National Oral Health Survey of China conducted in 2015 to 2016, residents aged 3 to 5 years, 12 to 15 years, 35 to 44 years, 55 to 64 years, and 65 to 74 years respectively were recruited, clinically examined and answered a questionnaire. Utilisation of oral health services were assessed in all the age groups and the economic burden of oral diseases in the past 12 months were assessed in the 3 to 5 years and 35 to 74 year-old groups. Chi-squared tests, t tests, correlation analysis and a one-way ANOVA were used to determine the relationships of different factors with utilisation of oral health services and the economic burden of oral diseases. RESULTS: In the subject groups - 3 to 5 years, 12 to 15 years and 35 to 74 years - the prevalence of the utilisation of oral health services in the past 12 months was 14.6% (5,876/40,353), 23.6% (27,936/118,592), and 20.1% (2,708/13,461), respectively. In all three groups, receiving dental treatment was the most common reason for subjects' recent dental visit. The average dental cost in the past 12 months was 403.43 CNY (median = 100) for 3 to 5-year-old children and 850.83 CNY (median = 300) for adults aged 35 to 74 years old. Area, education and annual household income per person were the socio-economic influential factors. Oral health status, oral hygiene and attitudes to and knowledge of oral health affected the utilisation of oral health services and the economic burden of oral diseases. CONCLUSION: The percentage of dental service utilisation was relatively low, and the economic burden was high. The related factors for both utilisation of oral health services and the economic burden of oral diseases included living in area, educational attainment, household income, perceived oral health status, and oral hygiene.

Resource allocation in NHS dentistry: recognition of societal preferences (RAINDROP): study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Resources in any healthcare systems are scarce relative to need and therefore choices need to be made which often involve difficult decisions about the best allocation of these resources. One pragmatic and robust tool to aid resource allocation is Programme Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA), but there is mixed evidence on its uptake and effectiveness. Furthermore, there is also no evidence on the incorporation of the preferences of a large and representative sample of the general public into such a process. The study therefore aims to undertake, evaluate and refine a PBMA process within the exemplar of NHS dentistry in England whilst also using an established methodology (Willingness to Pay (WTP)) to systematically gather views from a representative sample of the public. METHODS: Stakeholders including service buyers (commissioners), dentists, dental public health representatives and patient representatives will be recruited to participate in a PBMA process involving defining current spend, agreeing criteria to judge services/interventions, defining areas for investment and disinvestment, rating these areas against the criteria and making final recommendations. The process will be refined based on participatory action research principles and evaluated through semi-structured interviews, focus groups and observation of the process by the research team. In parallel a representative sample of English adults will be recruited to complete a series of four surveys including WTP valuations of programmes being considered by the PBMA panel. In addition a methodological experiment comparing two ways of eliciting WTP will be undertaken. DISCUSSION: The project will allow the PBMA process and particularly the use of WTP within it to be investigated and developed. There will be challenges around engagement with the task by the panel undertaking it and with the outputs by stakeholders but careful relationship building will help to mitigate this. The large volume of data will be managed through careful segmenting of the analysis and the use of the well-established Framework approach to qualitative data analysis. WTP has various potential biases but the elicitation will be carefully designed to minimise these and some methodological investigation will take place.

[Trends in the use of medical and dental services and associations with educational level and private health plan coverage in Brazil, 1998-2013]. / Tendências no uso de serviços de saúde médicos e odontológicos e a relação com nível educacional e posse de plano privado de saúde no Brasil, 1998-2013.

The public-private mix in the Brazilian health system favors double coverage of health services for individuals with private health plans and may aggravate inequities in the use of services. The aim of this study was to describe trends in the use of medical and dental services and associations with schooling and private health coverage. Data were obtained from a national household survey with representative samples in the years 1998, 2003, 2008, and 2013. The study described trends in the use of health services by adults, adjusted by private health coverage, years of schooling, sex, and age. There was an upward trend in the use of health services in adults without a private plan and among adults with a private plan the trend in use varied in a non-linear way. The medical service presented alternation in use over the years and the dental service showed a tendency to decline after 2003. It is necessary to monitor trends in private health coverage and the use of health services to assist government in regulating private plans and avoid increasing inequities among citizens in access to and use of health services.

O mix público-privado do sistema de saúde brasileiro favorece cobertura duplicada aos serviços de saúde aos indivíduos que possuem plano privado de saúde e pode aumentar as iniquidades no uso dos serviços. O objetivo deste estudo é descrever as tendências no uso dos serviços de saúde médicos e odontológicos e a relação com nível educacional e posse de plano privado de saúde. Os dados foram obtidos de inquéritos domiciliares nacionais com amostras representativas dos anos de 1998, 2003, 2008 e 2013. Foram descritas as tendências no uso de serviços de saúde por adultos ajustadas por posse de plano privado de saúde, nível de educação, sexo e idade. Há tendência de aumento no uso dos serviços de saúde em adultos sem plano privado e, entre adultos com plano privado, a tendência no uso variou de forma não linear. O serviço médico apresentou alternância no uso a longo dos anos e o serviço odontológico apresentou tendência de declínio após o ano de 2003. Acompanhar as tendências na posse de planos privados de saúde e no uso dos serviços de saúde é necessário para auxiliar o Estado na regulação dos planos privados e evitar o aumento das iniquidades no acesso e uso dos serviços de saúde entre os cidadãos.

El mix público-privado del sistema de salud brasileño favorece la cobertura duplicada a los servicios de salud para individuos que posean un plan privado de salud, y puede aumentar las inequidades en el uso de los servicios. El objetivo de este estudio es describir las tendencias en el uso de los servicios de salud médicos y odontológicos, y su relación con el nivel educacional y la tenencia de un plan privado de salud. Los datos se obtuvieron de encuestas domiciliarias nacionales, con muestras representativas de los años de 1998, 2003, 2008 y 2013. Se describieron las tendencias en el uso de servicios de salud por parte de adultos, ajustadas por la tenencia de un plan privado de salud, nivel de educación, sexo y edad. Existe una tendencia de aumento en el uso de los servicios de salud en adultos sin plan privado y, entre los adultos con plan privado, la tendencia en el uso varió de forma no lineal. El servicio médico presentó alternancia en el uso a lo largo de los años y el servicio odontológico presentó tendencia de declinación después del año 2003 Acompañar las tendencias en la obtención de planes privados de salud y en el uso de los servicios de salud es necesario para auxiliar al Estado en la regulación de los planes privados, y así evitar el aumento de las inequidades en el acceso y uso de los servicios de salud entre los ciudadanos.

How Medicare Could Provide Dental, Vision, and Hearing Care for Beneficiaries.

Issue: The Medicare program specifically excludes coverage of dental, vision, and hearing services. As a result, many beneficiaries do not receive necessary care. Those that do are subject to high out-of-pocket costs. Goal: Examine gaps in access to dental, vision, and hearing services for Medicare beneficiaries and design a voluntary dental, vision, and hearing benefit plan with cost estimates. Methods: Uses the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, Cost and Use File, 2012, with population and costs projected to 2016 values. Findings and Conclusions: Among Medicare beneficiaries, 75 percent of people who needed a hearing aid did not have one; 70 percent of people who had trouble eating because of their teeth did not go to the dentist in the past year; and 43 percent of people who had trouble seeing did not have an eye exam in the past year. Lack of access was particularly acute for poor beneficiaries. Because few people have supplemental insurance covering these additional services, among people who received care, three-fourths of their costs of dental and hearing services and 60 percent of their costs of vision services were paid out of pocket. We propose a basic benefit package for dental, vision, and hearing services offered as a premium-financed voluntary insurance option under Medicare. Assuming the benefit package could be offered for $25 per month, we estimate the total coverage costs would be $1.924 billion per year, paid for by premiums. Subsidies to reach low-income beneficiaries would follow the same design as the Part D subsidy.