Oral Health Status and Self-Report Dental Service Utilization Experience among Homeless People in Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study in Members of Work from Homeless Project
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This special article provides the first empirical evidence on the oral health conditions and dental service experiences among homeless people in Thailand, based on information from the volunteer spirit activities on medical and dental services to members of the social enterprise project “Work from Homeless”. On May 20, 2023, a total of 140 project members were most older persons, 130 voluntarily joined the interview, 122 had oral examination, 115 were in dental treatment needs (not including dentures). A total of 90 people received simple dental services as needed on the day of the activity, 24 refused treatment, and 1 person received no dental treatment due to uncontrolled diabetes. Only 98 people who agreed to be interviewed and examined were presented. The results confirm severe dental problems and higher unmet dental service needs among these homeless people than the general population, despite this list of unmet dental services has already been included in the benefit packages of all three health insurance systems. Not being aware of their health rights is likely to be a major barrier for homeless people in accessing to dental services. Creating awareness among homeless people of their rights should therefore be the first strategy to be implemented. Additional patient perspectives on barriers and enablers to dental care access are required for future planning of the dental service system to ensure that no one is left behind.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Journal of Health Systems Research is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, unless otherwise stated.
References
Tangcharoensathien V, Witthayapipopsakul W, Panichkriangkrai W, Patcharanarumol W, Mills A. Health systems development in Thailand: a solid platform for successful implementation of universal health coverage. Lancet. 2018;391(10126):1205-23. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30198-3/abstract. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30198-3.
National Statistical Office. The 2021 survey on health and welfare. Bangkok: Ministry of Information and Communication Technology; 2021. Available from: https://www.nso.go.th/nsoweb/nso/survey_detail/96. (in Thai)
National Statistical Office. The 2023 survey on health and welfare. Bangkok: Ministry of Information and Communication Technology; 2023. Available from: https://www.nso.go.th/nsoweb/nso/survey_detail/96. (in Thai)
Tussanapirom T, Panichkriangkrai W, Vongmongkol V. Equity in utilization of oral health services among Thai population: results from health and welfare survey 2017. Journal of Health Systems Research. 2019;13(3):271-83. Available from: https://kb.hsri.or.th/dspace/handle/11228/5111. (in Thai)
Peres MA, Macpherson LMD, Weyant RJ, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur MR, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. Lancet. 2019;394(10194):249-60. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)31146-8/abstract. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31146-8.
Jitsuchon S. Thailand in a middle-income trap. TDRI Quarterly Review. 2012;27(2):13-20. Available from: https://tdri.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/t5j2012-somchai.pdf.
Post reporters. Surge in homeless people heaps pressure on BMA. Bangkok Post. 2022 Oct 12 [cited 2023 May 31]. Available from: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2412413/surge-in-homeless-people-heaps-pressureon-bma.
The Mirror Foundation. Work from homeless project Bangkok. 2020 [cited2024 Aug 14]. Available from: https://www.mirror.or.th/projects.php?m=pro.
Bureau of Dental Health. The 9th national oral health survey 2023. Nonthaburi: Department of Health; 2024.
Lee SH, Ryu JI, Jung SH. Differences in utilization of medical and dental services among homeless people in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17(15):5304. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/15/5304. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17155304.
Gelberg L, Panarites CJ, Morgenstern H, Leake B, Andersen RM, Koegel P. Tuberculosis skin testing among homeless adults. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 1997;12(1):25-33. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497050/. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.12101.x.
Paisi M, Kay E, Plessas A, Burns L, Quinn C, Brennan N, et al. Barriers and enablers to accessing dental services for people experiencing homelessness: a systematic review. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology. 2019;47(2):103-11. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdoe.12444. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12444.
Goode J, Hoang H, Crocombe L. Strategies to improve access to and uptake of dental care by people experiencing homelessness in Australia: a grey literature review. Australian Health Review. 2020;44(2):297-303. Available from: https://www.publish.csiro.au/ah/AH18187. doi: 10.1071/AH18187.
Novak B, Matajs M, Sangalli AE, Pruts H, Korpasova A, Leptos N, et al. Evaluation of mobile and community dental service use among people experiencing homelessness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023;20(1):845. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/845. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010845.
Deeponkrang N. Factors affecting public sector dental services accessibility among the elderly in Waeng Yai district, Khon Kaen province. Journal of Khon Kaen Provincial Health Office Volume. 2021;3(1):1-20. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jkkpho/article/view/247646. (in Thai)
Sangouam S. Factors related to accessibility of dental care service among the elderly in Lower Northern Region, Thailand. Chiang Mai Dental Journal. 2015;36(1):53-61. Available from: https://web1.dent.cmu.ac.th/cmdj/fulltext/fulltext_2558_36_1_380.pdf. (in Thai)