A Study on the Pattern of Using Dental Clinics Focused on Some People with Hearing and Language Disorders of Korea
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Lee Jung-Hee , Park Myung-Suk 
Published: June 2018

Despite the increasing need for improving and diversifying welfares for the disabled in response to social changes, welfare services particularly for those with hearing impairments and speech defect are still insufficient. Thus, this study purposed to provide basic materials for promoting oral health among those with hearing impairments and speed defect Methods: This study was conducted with the disabled who were registered at the Association of the Deaf in the A area, Gyeonggi-do, were living in Gyeonggi-do, and had both hearing and language disorders.
The research period was from January 21 to February 14, 2009, and in the survey the subjects were divided into those who were able to answer the questions by themselves and those who could answer with a deaf interpreter’s help and a total of 230 questionnaires were distributed and 135 of them were collected and used in analysis. The questionnaire included questions on general characteristics (gender, age, academic qualification, occupation, residence type, and income) and on the pattern of using dental clinics and satisfaction with dental care services according to general characteristics.
Collected data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package the Social Science) 12.0. The pattern of using dental clinics according to the subjects’ general characteristics was analyzed through frequency analysis and χ2 (chi-square) test, and conclusions were drawn as follows.
Results: 1. In their use of dental clinics, 51.8% of the male subjects and 53.2% of the female ones had a sign language interpreter among their company, and difficulty in communication was reported by 53.6% of the male subjects and 62.0% of the female ones. With regard to explanations about contents of dental care, 76.8% of the male subjects and 64.6% of the female ones used sign language interpretation, showing the frequent use of sign language interpretation.
2. According to academic qualification, sign language interpretation was used for explanation about the contents of dental care by 94.6% of elementary school graduates, 62.9% of middle school graduates, and 57.7% of high school graduates, and the differences among the groups were statistically significant (p<0.05).
3. According to residence type, those who were accompanied by a sign language interpreter in visiting a dental clinic were 61.5% of those living alone, 55.8% of those living with the parents, 53.8% of those with other residence types, and 40.0% of those who married. Difficulty in communication was reported by 67.5% of those who married and 59% of those living alone. Furthermore, for explanation about the contents of dental care, 72.1% of those living with the parents used a sign language interpreter.
4. As to the company in visiting dental clinics according to income, among those who visited dental clinics alone without company, 27.3% had an income of 1~2 million won, 25.0% 2~3 million won, and 23.3% less than 1 million won. Among those who visited dental clinics with family, 25.0% had an income of 2~3 million won, 18.6% less than 1 million won, and 11.4% 1~2 million won. Among those who used a sign language interpreter, 52.3% had an income less than 1 million won, 52.3% 1~2 million won, and 50.0% 2~3 million won, so those with a low income used a sign language interpreter more frequently. Those with a low income complained of difficulty in communication more frequently during their use of dental clinics. That is, the proportion of those complaining of difficulty in communication was 62.8% of those with an income less than 1 million, 52.3% of those with 1~2 million won, and 50.0% of those with 2~3 million won. The proportion of those using a sign language interpreter in order to listen to explanations about treatment was 100.0% of those with an income of over 3 million won, 75.0% of those with 2~3 million won, 69.8% of those with less than 1 million won, and 68.2% of those with 1~2 million won.