ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on access to oral health information of Peruvian children. Materials and Methods: The Demographic and Family Health Survey generates annually a national database of Peruvian children between 0 and 11 years old, which is collected through direct interviews applied in the homes of residents of the country. A cross-sectional study was applied with this information collected during 2019 and 2020, with a final sample of 39 124 subjects, 15 974 from the year 2019 (62.03%) and 7088 from the year 2020 (55.54%). The dependent variable was access to oral health information and the independent variable was year; in addition, there were considered sociodemographic and geographical covariates. Finally, there were executed descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Results: Access to oral health information was 59.85% (n = 23 062). For the bivariate analysis, the dependent variable showed association with year, natural region, sex, altitude, health insurance coverage, area, place of residence and wealth index. During multivariate analysis, year manifested a negative association with access to oral health information (aPR: 0.89; 95%CI: 0.85-0.92; P < 0.001), adjusted for co-variables that previously manifested association. Conclusion: Access to oral health information for Peruvian children had a negative impact during 2020, in which COVID-19 pandemic occurred.
ABSTRACT
In Peru, there is low dental service use among older adults, in addition to a social gradient for use. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered complex scenarios characterized by inadequate access to health services, with greater impact on vulnerable population groups such as the elderly. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the time since last dental care visit among elderly Peruvians. It was a cross-sectional study conducted on a population of 5247 respondents in 2019, and 5066 respondents in 2020. The study considered the answers of people who responded to the question on the last time they had received dental care, extracting a total 4045 subjects for 2019 and 3943 for 2020. The dependent variable was time since last dental care measured in years, while the variables on health, geographic and sociodemographic characteristics were grouped within three dimensions. A descriptive bivariate and multivariateanalysiswasapplied by means of multiple linear regression to analyze the behavior of the variables. Time since the last dental care visit was 7.93 years (SD=8.03) in 2019 and 7.94 years (SD=7.28) in 2020. A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was performed, where no variable in the 2019 model was significant; while for 2020, health, geographic, and sociodemographic characteristics variables were significant. In the analysis where the 'year' variable becomes independent, only model 4, which considers all variables, was valid (p=0.018). The variables 'area of residence' and 'wealth index' were also significant. To conclude, the 2020 pandemic year for COVID-19 had no impact on the time since last dental care visit among elderly Peruvians, though factors such as area of residence and wealth index were found to be associated with the time since last dental care visit.
En Perú, los adultos mayores presentan un bajo uso de los servicios odontológicos, además de percibirse una gradiente social para su utilización. Adicionalmente, la pandemia por COVID-19 desencadenó escenarios complejos, caracterizados por un inadecuado acceso a los servicios de salud, que afectó con mayor énfasis a grupos poblacionales vulnerables, como las personas en edades extremas. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar el impacto de la pandemia por COVID-19 en el tiempo de atención odontológica en adultos mayores peruanos. Estudio transversal con población de 5247 encuestados para el 2019 y 5066 para el 2020. Se consideraron los registros de quienes respondieron a la pregunta sobre el tiempo desde su última atención odontológica, extrayéndose del 2019 un total de 4045 y para 2020, 3943 sujetos. La variable dependiente consistió en el tiempo desde la última atención odontológica medido en años; mientras que dentro de tres dimensiones,seagruparon a lasvariables sobre características de salud, geográficas y sociodemográficas. Se aplicó un análisis descriptivo, bivariado y multivariado, donde el tiempo desde la última atención odontológica en el año 2019 fue de 7.93 años (DE=8.03) y en el 2020 fue de 7.94 años (DE=7.28). Se realizó un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple jerárquica, donde ninguna variable del modelo 2019 fue significativa; mientras que para 2020, las variables características de salud, geográficas y sociodemográficas si lo fueron. Al análisis, donde el año pasa a ser independiente, sólo el modelo 4, que considera todas las variables fue válido (p=0.018); asimismo, el área de residencia e índice de riqueza presentaron significancia estadística. Para concluir, en el año 2020 la pandemia por COVID-19 no impactó en el tiempo de atención odontológica en adultos mayores peruanos, sin embargo, factores como área de residencia e índice de riqueza si presentaron asociación con el tiempo desdelaúltimaatención.