Studies from University of Tsukuba Provide New Data on Information Technology (Regional Inequality In Dental Care Utilization In Japan: an Ecological Study Using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims): Information Technology

2022 FEB 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Fresh data on Information Technology are presented in a new report. According to news reporting out of Ibaraki, Japan, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “This study examined regional inequalities in dental care utilization in Japan and the association of dental care utilization with socioeconomic factors. Using the Fourth National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Check-ups of Japan Open data, this ecological study analyzed 216 million pieces of aggregated data from April 2017 to March 2018.”

Financial support for this research came from Government of Japan Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Tsukuba, “Nine indicators of dental care utilization were used: outpatient visits, outreach ser-vices, cavity fillings, pulpectomies, dental calculus removals, periodontal surgeries, tooth extractions, den-tal bridges, and dentures. Standardized claim ratios (SCRs) for these indicators were calculated for Japan’s 47 prefectures, which were divided into three groups based on the number of dental clinics per population, average income per capita, and the proportion of university enrollments. Associations of the dental care utilization with dental supply and regional socioeconomic factors were examined. The ratios of maximum to minimum of SCRs were 1.4 for outpatient visits, 19.3 for outreach services, and 17.6 for periodontal surgeries. Dental supply was positively associated with outpatient visits, outreach services, dental calculus removal, and periodontal surgeries. Regional average income and educational level were positively associated with dental calculus removals, and negatively associated with pulpectomies, tooth extractions, dental bridges, and dentures. In Japan, regional inequalities in dental care utilization exist for periodontal care and out-reach services but are smaller for urgent and substantial dental care.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Regional income and educational levels appear to have influence on dental care utilization.”

For more information on this research see: Regional Inequality In Dental Care Utilization In Japan: an Ecological Study Using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 2021;12:100170. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific can be contacted at: Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 Nx Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Takahiro Mori, University of Tsukuba, Hlth Serv Res & Dev Ctr, 1-1-1 Tenno Dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058575, Japan. Additional authors for this research include Kento Taira, Miho Ishimaru, Masao Iwagami, Nobuo Sakata, Taeko Watanabe, Hideto Takahashi and Nanako Tamiya.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100170. 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.

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