Ethnic classification in primary dental care and dental health services research: time to pause for thought.
'Ethnicity' is an important concept in dental health services research and in enabling general dental practitioners to gain insight into their patients values and expectations. Since more health services research is being undertaken in primary dental care settings it is becoming an important issue for dental professionals and researchers in primary care to be aware of. Ethnicity is thought to be related to dental health inequalities and access and is often used as a stratifying variable in many dental studies. The meaning and use of the term however differs among researchers and among the public. It is clear that researchers and professionals need to pause for thought when considering what this often bandied about term actually means and the impact of different definitions. This is illustrated using examples from the authors' own research and published papers in the medical and dental literature. There is also much debate about whether ethnicity--however defined--is an important predictor of differences in dental health in itself or is merely a marker for other factors such as social deprivation or the impact of 'place' on dental health. While the jury on this debate is out we suggest guidelines on the reporting of ethnicity should be outlined in the dental literature--perhaps updating those published in 1996 in the British Medical Journal.
Buck
D J
DJ
Department of Dental Public Health and Oral Health Services Research, Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Dental Institute, King's College London.
Malik
S
S
Murphy
N
N
Patel
V
V
Singh
S
S
Syed
B
B
Vora
N
N
D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D018865:Dental Research / Q000379:methods*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000145:classification*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000145:classification*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom