Oral health service utilization of Thai working-age in pandemic of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected health service utilization, particularly oral health services utilization. This study aimed to compare the utilization of oral health services and the associated factors among Thai working individuals both before and during the pandemic. The research relied on secondary data obtained from the 2019 and 2021 Health and Welfare Surveys administered by the National Statistical Office. These surveys collectively covered 38,077 and 37,734 individuals, respectively, falling within the working age range of 15 to 59 years old. These figures were further categorized into oral health service utilization, with 2,703 and 3,322 individuals in each respective year. Descriptive statistics were utilized for the analysis of personal data, and Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney U tests were employed to compare health service utilization. Additionally, factors associated with oral health service utilization were examined through binary logistic regression. The study revealed the following findings: 1) There was a statistically significant difference in oral health service utilization before and during the pandemic (p < .001). 2) Gender, age, education, and family income over 10,000 Baht were significantly correlated with oral health service utilization before the COVID-19 pandemic (p<.05). Furthermore, gender, age, education, and all levels of family income exhibited significant correlations during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<.001). These results provided valuable insights for the development of plans to enhance oral health service utilization among Thai working-age individuals in the event of future outbreaks of infectious diseases.