Dairy Products and Dental Caries

Substitution of part of a cariogenic diet of weanling rats by various dairy products reduces tooth decay. Similar alterations of the maternal diet are without influence.     

全科医生在上海社区卫生服务中的作用

论述了全科医生在上海社区卫生服务中的作用,指出全科医生应成为:社区卫生保健需求与资源信息的掌握者;社区常见疾病诊治的第一责任者;社区群体与个体预防服务的提供者;家庭与人群保健的维护者;社区医疗卫生资源均衡利用的协调与管理者;继承发扬传统中医学的实践者,并提出了保障这些作用发挥的相应措施。     

Educating Practitioners for the Care of the Elderly

No abstract available for this article.     

Education Practitioners for the Care of the Elderly

No abstract available for this article.     

Children's Access to Dental Care in Connecticut's Medicaid Managed Care Program

Objective: To describe dental care utilization and access problems in Connecticut's Medicaid managed care program, using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Methods: Using Medicaid managed care enrollment and encounter data from Connecticut, utilization rates for preventive care and treatment services are determined for 87,181 children who were continuously enrolled in Medicaid managed care for 1 year in 1996–97. Sociodemographic and enrollment factors associated with utilization are identified using bivariate and multivariate methods. Dental providers and practices where children received services are described. Qualitative methods are used to characterize problems experienced by families seeking dental care during the study period. Results: Only 30.5% of children continuously enrolled in Medicaid managed care for 1 year received any preventive dental services; 17.8% received any treatment services. Children who received preventive care were eight times more likely to have received treatment services. Utilization was higher among (a) younger children, (b) children who lived in Hartford and in other counties served by public dental clinics, and (c) children enrolled in health plans that did not subcontract for administration of dental services. Just 5% of providers, primarily those in public dental clinics, performed 50% of the services. Families whose children needed care encountered significant administrative and logistical problems when trying to find willing providers and obtain appointments. Conclusions: Access to dental care is a problem for children in Connecticut's Medicaid managed care program. Several features of managed care have negatively affected access. Public dental clinics served many children across the state and contributed to higher utilization of preventive care and treatment services among children living in Hartford.     

Warnings for Health Care Products

No abstract available for this article.     

Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners as a Usual Source of Care

ABSTRACT:  Purpose: To identify characteristics and outcomes of patients who use physician assistants and nurse practitioners (PA/NPs) as a usual source of care. Methods: Cross sectional analysis using the telephone and mail surveys of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), a prospective cohort study of Wisconsin high school graduates and selected siblings (n = 6,803). Findings: Individuals from metropolitan (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.29-0.54) and micropolitan (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.44-0.95) areas were less likely to utilize PA/NPs than participants from rural locations. Participants without insurance or with public insurance other than Medicare were more likely than those with private insurance to utilize PA/NPs (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.02-2.86). Patients of PA/NPs were more likely to be women (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.34-2.34), younger (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.92-0.98) and have lower extroversion scores (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.68-0.96). Participants utilizing PA/NPs reported lower perceived access (β=−0.22, 95% CI =−0.35-0.09) than those utilizing doctors. PA/NP utilization was associated with an increased likelihood of chiropractor visits (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.15-2.15) and decreased likelihood of a complete health exams (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.55-0.99) or mammograms (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.45-0.93). There were no significant differences in self-rated health or difficulties/delays in receiving care. Conclusions: Populations served by PA/NPs and doctors differ demographically but not in complexity. Though perceived access to care was lower for patients of PA/NPs, there were few differences in utilization and no differences in difficulties/delays in care or outcomes. This suggests that PA/NPs are acting as primary care providers to underserved patients with a range of disease severity, findings which have important implications for policy, including clinician workforce and reimbursement issues.     

Dental Care Utilization for Examination and Regional Deprivation

Objectives:

Receiving proper dental care plays a significant role in maintaining good oral health. We investigated the relationship between regional deprivation and dental care utilization.

Methods:

Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify the relationship between the regional deprivation level and dental care utilization purpose, adjusting for individual-level variables, in adults aged 19+ in the 2008 Korean Community Health Survey (n=220 258).

Results:

Among Korean adults, 12.8% used dental care to undergo examination and 21.0% visited a dentist for other reasons. In the final model, regional deprivation level was associated with significant variations in dental care utilization for examination (p<0.001). However, this relationship was not shown with dental care utilization for other reasons in the final model.

Conclusions:

This study’s findings suggest that policy interventions should be considered to reduce regional variations in rates of dental care utilization for examination.     

Child and Youth Care Education: The Creation of Articulate Practitioners

This author examines the need for Child and Youth Care (CYC) programs to reflect on the difference between CYC practice and other formats of helping. The life-space work environment creates unique learning and self-development goals for faculty and students. Professional identity is a fundamental starting point for faculty.