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. 1982 Fall;15(3):353–362. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1982.15-353

Visiting the dentist: a behavioral community analysis of participation in a dental health screening and referral program.

M L Reiss, J S Bailey
PMCID: PMC1308281  PMID: 6815153

Abstract

One-hundred and twenty-five families in the Medicaid Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Program were assigned to one of five treatments to encourage parents to obtain health care service following the dental screening of their children: (a) a control procedure, in which parents were given a dentist's name; (b) a multiple contact procedure, in which parents received a postcard and two telephone call reminders; (c) a problem-solve procedure, in which a social worker aide conducted a brief session with the parent; (d) an incentive procedure, in which parents selected among four gifts that were contingent on seeking care; (e) an incentive + problem-solve procedure, in which the latter two treatments were combined. The multiple contact, incentive, and incentive + problem-solve techniques were significantly more effective in initiating dental visits than the control procedures. Families assigned to the intensive strategies were most likely to complete treatment. A cost-efficiency analysis showed the multiple contact technique to be a low-cost and highly effective procedure.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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