The Impact of Culture on New Asian Immigrants' Access to Oral Health Care: a Scoping Review

Overview

Journal Can J Dent Hyg

Specialty Dentistry

Date 2023 Mar 27

PMID 36968804

Authors

Heather Doucette

Sijie Yang

Miriam Spina

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Immigration has accounted for three-quarters of Canada's population growth since 2016, more than half of which has been from Asian countries. Newcomers from Asia have been reported to experience oral health disparities. The objective of this scoping review was to examine the literature discussing how culture affects access to oral health care for new immigrants from Asia and to identify knowledge gaps.

Methods: The review was conducted from December 2021 to April 2022 following the Arskey and O'Malley approach and PRISMA-ScR guideline. Five databases were searched using the search parameter "Asian+ AND Immigrant+ AND oral care+". Only peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2011 and 2021 were included.

Results: The search strategy yielded 736 articles. Duplicates were removed, titles and abstracts were reviewed, and the full text of 69 articles examined, leaving 26 articles that met eligibility criteria: 18 quantitative studies, 4 qualitative studies, and 4 reviews.

Discussion: Four themes were identified: language barriers, oral health care access and service utilization, oral health beliefs and behaviour, and immigrant children's oral health. Most new immigrants from Asia have limited English proficiency, are of low socioeconomic status, and have difficulty developing trusting relationships with care providers. Immigrant children's oral health is impacted by their parents' beliefs.

Conclusion: More research is needed on cultural barriers to and facilitators of access to oral health care for newcomers from Asia to Canada to aid in the development and implementation of policies and to inform practice and curriculum.

Citing Articles

Canadian immigrants' oral health and oral health care providers' cultural competence capacity.

Van Dam L, Diab E, Johnson J Can J Dent Hyg. 2024; 58(1):34-47.

PMID: 38505317 PMC: 10946319.

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