Beau D Meyer1, Jessica Y Lee2, Lewis N Lampiris3, Paul Mihas4, Sarah Vossers5, Kimon Divaris6. 1. Pediatric dental resident, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, and graduate student, Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA;, Email: beau_meyer@unc.edu. 2. Distinguished professor and chair, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and a professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA. 3. Clinical associate professor and director, Dentistry in Service to Communities, Department of Dental Ecology, School of Dentistry, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA. 4. Assistant director of Education and Qualitative Research, H.W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Sciences, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA. 5. Research assistant, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA. 6. Associate professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and an adjunct assistant professor, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine pediatric emergency dental trends in two safety net clinics and care-seeking experiences of young children's caregivers. METHODS: Administrative data were used to describe and compare emergency first visits of children ages zero to six years in a community-based (CC) and a University-based (UC) safety net clinic from 2010 to 2014. In-person interviews were conducted with 11 caregivers of children ages zero to six presenting for nontrauma-related emergency visits at the UC from January to August 2016. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed inductively using Atlas. ti.7.5.9. RESULTS: The UC experienced significantly more emergency first visits (33 percent) than the CC (five percent, P<0.001), and the majority of these UC visits were referrals. Caregivers were dissatisfied with the experienced barriers of access to care and lack of child-centeredness, specifically the referral out of the dental home for emergency dental care. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable proportion of children's first visits at dental safety net clinics was emergency related. Children's caregivers voiced issues related to access to care and lack of child-centered care. Discordance was apparent between how professional organizations define the dental home and how caregivers experience it in the context of emergency care.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine pediatric emergency dental trends in two safety net clinics and care-seeking experiences of young children's caregivers. METHODS: Administrative data were used to describe and compare emergency first visits of children ages zero to six years in a community-based (CC) and a University-based (UC) safety net clinic from 2010 to 2014. In-person interviews were conducted with 11 caregivers of children ages zero to six presenting for nontrauma-related emergency visits at the UC from January to August 2016. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed inductively using Atlas. ti.7.5.9. RESULTS: The UC experienced significantly more emergency first visits (33 percent) than the CC (five percent, P<0.001), and the majority of these UC visits were referrals. Caregivers were dissatisfied with the experienced barriers of access to care and lack of child-centeredness, specifically the referral out of the dental home for emergency dental care. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable proportion of children's first visits at dental safety net clinics was emergency related. Children's caregivers voiced issues related to access to care and lack of child-centered care. Discordance was apparent between how professional organizations define the dental home and how caregivers experience it in the context of emergency care.
Authors: Richard Gary Rozier; Benjamin Alexander White; Mian Wang; Beau D Meyer; Jessica Y Lee Journal: J Public Health Dent Date: 2019-06-17 Impact factor: 1.821