Opportunities for oral cancer screening among older African-American women.
BACKGROUND
Older persons with smoking histories are important targets for oral cancer screening. Although older persons in low-income communities often lack regular dental care, little is known about the characteristics of groups at greatest risk for poor screening.


METHODS
Survey data from 576 African-American women aged 45-93 were used to identify predictors of smoking and recency and type of dental care.


RESULTS
Fifty-nine percent of respondents were current or former smokers, and 62% reported dental care within the past 3 years. Among smokers, no recent dental care was associated with older age, worse health, not working, no regular medical provider, and no recent mammography.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that episodic visits to non dentist providers offer opportunities for oral screening in high-risk populations.
Klassen
Ann C
AC
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. aklassen@jhsph.edu
Juon
Hee Soon
HS
Alberg
Anthony J
AJ
Reid
Britt C
BC
Meissner
Helen I
HI
D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003729:Dental Care / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011204:Poverty Areas; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology