title: Oral healthcare challenges for older Punjabi-speaking immigrants.
abstract: This study explored how older Punjabi-speaking South-Asian immigrants (four focus groups; 33 participants) in Surrey, British Columbia, perceive oral health and related problems. Content analysis revealed two umbrella themes: (a) interpretations of mouth conditions and (b) challenges to oral health. The umbrella themes had four sub-themes: damage caused by heat (wai), disturbances caused by caries, coping with dentures, and quality of life. Three challenges were considered: home remedies, Western dentistry, and difficulties accessing dentists. Participants explained oral diseases in terms of a systemic infection (resha), and preferred to decrease imbalances of wai in the mouth with home remedies from India. We conclude that older Punjabi-speaking immigrants interpret oral health and disease in the context of both Western and Ayurvedic traditions, and that they manage dental problems with a mix of traditional remedies supplemented, if possible, by elective oral health care in India, and by emergency dental care in Canada.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences,University of British Columbia,Vancouver.
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: MacEntee
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Centre for Health Services and Policy Research,University of British Columbia,Vancouver.
authors.forename: Sabrina T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology & Centre on Aging,University of Victoria,British Columbia.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine,University of British Columbia,Vancouver.
authors.forename: B Lynn
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences,University of British Columbia,Vancouver.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brondani
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences,University of British Columbia,Vancouver.
authors.forename: S Ross
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,University of British Columbia,Vancouver.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Graf
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Public Health & Torabinejad Dental Research Center,Dental School,Isfahan University of Medical Sciences,Isfahan,Iran.
authors.forename: Shimae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soheilipour
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D001955:British Columbia; D003731:Dental Caries; D003752:Dental Health Services; D003778:Dentures; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009059:Mouth Diseases; D009909:Oral Health; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life