The American Indian and Alaska Native dentist workforce in the United States.
The American Indian and Alaska Native dentist workforce in the United States.
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DOI：
10.1111/jphd.12186
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发表时间：
2017-03
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Gates P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mertz E;Wides C;Gates P
The purpose of this paper is to describe the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) dentist workforce, the general practice patterns of these providers, and their contributions to oral health care for AI/AN and underserved patients. A national sample survey of underrepresented minority dentists was conducted in 2012 and received a 34.0% response rate for self-reported AI/AN dentists. Data were weighted for selection and response bias to be nationally representative. Descriptive and multivariable statistics were computed to provide a workforce profile. Comparisons to Census data and published information on dental students and dentists were used to examine practice patterns. The AI/AN dentist workforce (weighted n=442) is very diverse with 55 reported individual tribal affiliations. Tribal heritage was provided by 96.4% of AI/AN dentists (n=426), and of these, 93.9% (n=400) reported an affiliation with only one tribe. The largest share of AI/AN dentists were born in the U.S. (98.2%, n=434), married (75.6%, n=333), and had dependent children under age 18 (52.0%, n=222). Only 0.9% (n=4) of AI/AN dentists spoke a traditional AI/AN language in patient care, while 10.6% (n=46) were raised on tribal land or reservation. Initial practice in the Indian Health Service was reported by 15.8% of AI/AN dentists while 16.2% report currently practicing in a safety-net setting, and 42.0% report working in a practice that primarily serves underserved patients. AI/AN dentists provide a disproportionate share of care for AI/AN populations, yet the number of AI/AN dentists would need to increase 7.4 fold in order to meet population parity.
