Inequalities in access to NHS primary care dental services in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Introduction This study aimed to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access and inequalities in primary care dental services among children and adults in Scotland.Methods Access was measured as any NHS Scotland primary care dental contacts derived from administrative data from January 2019 to May 2022, linked to the area-based Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation for children and adults, and related to population denominator estimates from National Record Scotland. Inequalities for pre-pandemic (January 2019-January 2020) and recent (December 2021-February 2022, and March 2022-May 2022) periods for both children and adults were calculated and compared using the slope index of inequality and relative index of inequality.Results Following the first lockdown (March 2020) there w

SUBMITTER: Aminu AQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10208681 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature