Dental Health Utilization in Palau: Feasibility of an Oral Cancer Screening Program

Figures & Tables

Characteristics of participants.

CHARACTERISTICS		N	%
Age	18–34	63	28.3%
	35–44	58	26.0%
	45–54	58	26.0%
	55–64	33	14.8%
	65–74	10	4.5%
	75 and older	1	0.4%
	Mean 42 years
	Range 18–75
	Total	223	100%
Gender	Male	44	19.9%
	Female	177	80.1%
	Total	221	100%
Level of education	Did not complete high school	7	3.2%
	Completed high school	37	16.9%
	Attended university but did not complete	66	30.1%
	Graduated from university	79	36.1%
	Degree beyond university	30	13.7%
State of residence	Koror	135	60.5%
State of residence	Other state	88	39.5%
Total		223	100%

Predictors of perceptions of access to dental health services.

CATEGORY	VALUE	N (%)	P VALUE
Seeking dental care is easy	No	92 (42%)
Seeking dental care is easy	Yes	127 (58%)
Education category	High school or less	73 (33.3%)	0.446
Education category	At least some university education	146 (66.7%)
State of residence	Koror	130 (59.4%)	0.186
State of residence	Other state	89 (40.6%)
Age group	18–34	63 (28.5%)	0.332
	35–44	57 (25.8%)
	45–54	58 (26.2%)
	55–64	32 (14.5%)
	65 and older	11 (5.0%)

Themes addressing facilitators and barriers to dental health utilization.

	KEY THEMES	DESCRIPTION	DEMONSTRATIVE QUOTES
*Barriers*	Lack of available appointments and number of dentists.	The long wait time for an available appointment to see a dentist and the hours of availability of dental clinics. The lack of dentists available creates long wait.	“I have to make an appointment and I have to wait for a very long time for them to contact me so by the time they call I have to cancel because something comes up.”
*Barriers*	Seeking dental care is limited by cost.	Financial constraints and the cost of dental care are prohibitive.	“Too expensive and always fully booked.”
*Facilitators*	Resources at multiple levels exist to facilitate obtaining dental care.	Private and public medical/dental insurance programs help offset the cost of dental care. Having personal and/or available transportation.	“Sometimes have enough Government medical savings to cover cost.” “I have my own vehicle to drive to the dentist.”
*Facilitators*	Dental clinics provide services that promote obtaining dental care.	Phone call reminders, cancellation lists, and walk-in for emergencies promote obtaining care.	“I can call anytime for appointments or walk in for any emergencies.”