Can more resilient elderly people be more satisfied with dental services?

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionWith respect to dental health services, few studies have been developed to understand the satisfaction of this age group with these services.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between resilience and satisfaction with dental services among elderly people, using a model adjusted for confounding factors.Material and methodThe locus of the research was the Lomba-Parthenon district management, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 771 elderly people living in their homes were identified through cluster sampling. The subjects responded to a socio-demographic and health behaviors questionnaire, the Resilience Scale and to questions regarding their satisfaction with dental care accessed. Furthermore, a brief oral examination was conducted to count the number of teeth and to identify the use of dental prostheses.ResultBased on a hierarchical approach conducted using Multivariate Logistic Regression and after fully adjusted analysis, the estimated odds ratios of the variables that were significantly associated with the outcome of this study, satisfaction with dental care, were: 1) obtaining a dental appointment, classified as regular: OR= 1.85, 95% CI (1.10 to 3.12); 2) obtaining a dental appointment, classified as bad: OR= 2.17, 95% CI (1.05 to 4.50); and, 3) high potential for resilience: OR= 0.60, 95% CI (0.37 to 0.97).ConclusionThe results confirm the hypothesis of an association between high potential for resilience and satisfaction with the Dental Services accessed by elderly people.

Keywords

• Health services evaluation
• psychological resilience
• dental care for elderly people
• health of elderly people
• patient satisfaction