New Oral Science and Health Research Reported from University Indonesia (Oral health inequality among Indonesian workers in South Korea: role of health insurance and discrimination factors): Health and Medicine – Oral Science and Health

2022 FEB 10 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Fresh data on oral science and health are presented in a new report. According to news originating from the University Indonesia by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The health of migrant workers is becoming an important public health issue. Although there are an increasing number of migrant workers in Korea, the health status in migrant populations remains unknown.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from University Indonesia: “The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the association between income and self-rated oral health (SROH), and (2) to assess the role of health insurance and self-perceived discrimination in the association between income and SROH among Indonesian migrant workers in Korea. Information about self-reported income, SROH, coverage/utilization of health insurance (HI), living difficulties related to oral health (LDROH), oral health literacy (OHL), and discrimination were obtained from Indonesian migrant workers in Korea (n = 248). The main explanatory variable was income, and SROH was an outcome variable. Logistic regression analyses were performed controlling for age, gender, HI, LDROH, OHL, and discrimination. The paths from income to SROH were analyzed using the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). Among Indonesian migrant workers, the lower income group had the highest probability of a poor SROH compared to the higher income group. The variables showing a high explanatory power were discrimination among the low income group and HI among the middle income group. In PLS-SEM, the variables such as HI, LDROH, OHL, and discrimination contributed 11% to explaining the association between income and SROH.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “A monotonic gradient was revealed among migrant workers according to the association between income and SROH. Discrimination and HI contributed to oral health inequalities.”

For more information on this research see: Oral health inequality among Indonesian workers in South Korea: role of health insurance and discrimination factors. BMC Oral Health, 2022,22(1):1-9. (BMC Oral Health - http://bmcoralhealth.biomedcentral.com). The publisher for BMC Oral Health is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-022-02050-3.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Herry Novrinda, Department of Dental Public Health and Preventive Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia. Additional authors for this research include Dong-Hun Han.

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