New Findings on Women’s Health from Virginia Commonwealth University Summarized (Oral Health Knowledge, Barriers To Dental Care, and Awareness of a Medicaid Pregnancy Dental Coverage Among Reproductive-age Women): Women’s Health

2021 NOV 16 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Women’s Health is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Richmond, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Oral health is an integral part of women’s health, yet many women face barriers and go without necessary dental care. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine and compare pregnancy-related oral health knowledge and barriers to dental care access during pregnancy among women with private and public insurance and (2) estimate awareness of available Medicaid pregnancy dental benefit among Medicaid-enrolled women and explore associated factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of 21- to 45-year-old women (n = 187) visiting a large urban academic health center in Virginia.”

Funders for this research include Virginia Department of Health (VDH), United States Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA).

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Virginia Commonwealth University, “Data on pregnancy-related oral health knowledge, barriers to dental care access, Medicaid dental benefit awareness, health insurance, socio-demographics, health information source, and last dental visit were collected. Chi-square tests, t-tests, and multivariable regression were used to examine associations at p<= 0.05.

Results: More than half of the women reported private insurance (52.4%), 40.3% reported Medicaid, and 8.3% reported being uninsured. Medicaid-enrolled women reported a lower prevalence of a routine dental checkup in the past year (44% vs. 71%, p = 0.002), lower knowledge scores (2.9 vs. 3.6, p< 0.001), and more barriers to accessing dental care during pregnancy compared with privately insured women. One in every three Medicaid-enrolled women (34%) was unaware of the Medicaid pregnancy dental benefit. Benefit awareness was associated with the receipt of health information from a health care source (p = 0.030) and a high oral health knowledge score (p = 0.018). Conclusions: There was a significant gap in dental care use and knowledge between Medicaid-enrolled and private-insured women in our study sample.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Targeted programs should be developed to educate women about the importance of oral health and share information about available Medicaid dental coverage to reduce barriers to dental care during pregnancy.

.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Oral Health Knowledge, Barriers To Dental Care, and Awareness of a Medicaid Pregnancy Dental Coverage Among Reproductive-age Women. Journal of Women s Health, 2021. Journal of Women s Health can be contacted at: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc, 140 Huguenot Street, 3RD Fl, New Rochelle, NY 10801, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Shillpa Naavaal, Virginia Commonwealth University, Dept Dent Publ Hlth & Policy, School of Dentistry, Richmond, VA 23284, United States. Additional authors for this research include Caroline K. Carrico, Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, Tiffany L. Williams and Sarah E. Raskin.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2021.0252. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)