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Objectives: Using an ecological conceptual model, this study examined the social context, structural, and behavioral factors within an immigrant community that contribute to increased access and use of oral health services by Latino children. The predictors of health service use at the level of the individual, the family, the provider, and the health service system were studied for their effects on the initiation of care, continuity of care, and frequency of planned visits. Methods: In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 320 Latino mothers regarding their use of oral health services for 4-8-year-old children [Mexican (n = 221), Puerto Rican (n = 69), and Central and South American (n = 30)]. Outcome measures of dental care utilization were early age at initiation of care, continuity of care, and frequency of planned dental visits. Results: Regular planned dental visits were significantly related to the structural variables of household income and provider availability. The initiation of dental care was related to the mother's beliefs about the value of early preventive dental care. Mothers were more likely to continue care if they believed that the purpose was to keep the child's teeth healthy and had satisfactory communication with the dentist. Conclusions: Identifying the structural and behavioral factors that increase the likelihood of the use of oral health services can provide the basis for developing effective interventions specific to Latino children at the neighborhood level. The study findings can be also used for designing culturally appropriate oral health promotion programs and provider coordination of care.

Female labor force participation and its determinants in rural and urban China were examined. The sociological literature has demonstrated that participation tends to increase in urban and industrialized areas where women have higher levels of educations and fewer children where more workers are engaged in service professions and where family structure is less traditional. With the use of data on counties and cities (n=2377) from the 1% sample of the 1982 census of the Peoples Republic of China it was found that female labor force participation is likely to rise in areas with increased agricultural employment educational levels proportion of female-headed households and higher male-to-female sex ratios. Both the size of the service sector and the fertility rate had negligible effects on female labor force participation. Although on the average rural areas have slightly higher levels of female labor force participation urban areas actually have a higher rate of female participation when other variables are controlled. In addition the findings suggest that market factors such as education are more likely to determine the rate of female labor force participation in urban areas; in rural areas a more significant role is played by demographic and social factors such as sex ratio and household structure. (authors modified)

Background. Variations in cancer incidence and mortality rates between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites have been reported in several regions in the United States. This report describes the ethnic variation in selected cancer sites in Cook County, Illinois. Methods. Cancer incidence, age-specific, and age-standardized relative rates, and 95% confidence intervals were estimated among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites in Cook County, Illinois, for 1986-1987. Hispanics were identified using surnames and maiden names with the Generally Useful Ethnic Search System (GUESS). Results. Rates of lung cancer in Hispanics were approximately half of those observed for non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics also had lower rates of colon, breast, and bladder cancer. Hispanic females had rates of invasive cervical cancer that were approximately two times higher than those of non-Hispanic whites. Conclusions. These results are consistent with previous studies and suggest that Hispanics residing in the United States may retain some of the risk profile of those living in their home country. Cancer 1995;75:2939–45.