Underrepresented Minority Dentists: Quantifying Their Numbers And Characterizing The Communities They Serve
Underrepresented Minority Dentists: Quantifying Their Numbers And Characterizing The Communities They Serve
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DOI：
10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1122
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发表时间：
2016-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
9.7
通讯作者：
Gates, Paul E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mertz, Elizabeth A.;Wides, Cynthia D.;Gates, Paul E.
黑人，西班牙裔或拉丁美洲人，美国印第安人或阿拉斯加原住民在牙医中的代表性不足，引起了人们对牙科劳动力多样性，获得牙科保健和口腔健康状况的差异以及社会正义的关注。我们量化了代表性不足的少数民族牙医的短缺，并研究了这些牙医的实践模式与他们所服务的社区的特点。代表性不足的少数民族牙医劳动力比美国少数民族人口少得不成比例，而且分布不均匀。少数群体成员在这些牙医的病人群体中所占的比例大于牙医所在社区的人口。与没有少数民族牙医的县相比，有一名或多名少数民族牙医的县在种族上更加多样化和富裕，但也有更大的经济和社会不平等。目前改善牙科工作人员多样性的政策方法是关键的第一步，但必须做更多的工作来改善牙科健康的公平性。
The underrepresentation of Blacks, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives among dentists raises concerns about the diversity of the dental workforce, disparities in access to dental care and in oral health status, and social justice. We quantified the shortage of underrepresented minority dentists and examined these dentists' practice patterns in relation to the characteristics of the communities they serve. The underrepresented minority dentist workforce is disproportionately smaller than, and unevenly distributed in relation to, minority populations in the United States. Members of minority groups represent larger shares of these dentists' patient panels than of the populations in the communities where the dentists are located. Compared to counties with no underrepresented minority dentists, counties with one or more such dentists are more racially diverse and affluent but also have greater economic and social inequality. Current policy approaches to improve the diversity of the dental workforce are a critical first step, but more must be done to improve equity in dental health.