Date of Conferral

10-30-2026

Date of Award

October 2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Sciences

Advisor

Chinaro Kennedy

Abstract

Children in rural areas face barriers to dental care. Evidence on emergency and preventive dental voucher use in rural populations is limited. This quantitative study examined associations among demographic characteristics, geographic location, referral sources, and emergency and preventive dental voucher utilization in rural Central Utah using secondary administrative data from a dental voucher program. Guided by the social determinants of health framework, this retrospective cohort study used descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square tests of independence, and multivariable logistic regression to examine dental voucher encounters and subsequent preventive care following emergency voucher use among N = 267 children. Eligible children were 18 years and younger, uninsured for dental care, and resided in Central Utah with household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Children in the Sanpete–Sevier grouping had lower odds of emergency voucher utilization (OR = 0.703, 95% CI [0.510, 0.970], p < .05), whereas children in households between 101% and 200% of the federal poverty level had higher odds (OR = 1.354, 95% CI [1.011, 1.814], p < .05). Preventive dental voucher use was significantly associated with household income category (OR = 0.722, 95% CI [0.537, 0.970], p < .05). Among children with an emergency dental encounter, 40% subsequently used a preventive dental voucher, and each one-category increase in age group was associated with 28% lower adjusted odds of subsequent preventive dental voucher use (OR = 0.720, 95% CI [0.561, 0.926], p < .05). Findings may inform targeted outreach and improved preventive care follow-up to reduce rural oral health disparities.

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