This research was conducted on the target group of total 2655 women, 1180 economically active women and 1475 economically inactive women who reside in some part of Chollabuck Do Province in order to analyze the factors related to the oral health beliefs and dental clinic utilization of economically active women, to promote the understanding of oral health behavior of these women, and to prepare the basic materials. The surveyed areas were 4 cities and kuns(counties) including city of Iksan. This research first selected 14 elementary schools in those areas by using the method of cluster sampling as a sampling frame and then surveyed mothers of all children from 3rd to 6th graders in those schools. Questionnaires were used as a survey method. The dependent variables in survey items were the number of dental clinic utilization and the oral health beliefs and the independent variables were 19 socioeconomic and demographical factors such as age, education, and family income. The oral health beliefs include , 5 items of perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, perceived salience, perceived benefit, and perceived barrier. This research calculated the average value of the oral health beliefs and the number of dental clinic utilization and analyzed the factors related to the oral health beliefs and the number of dental clinic utilization of economically active women. Also, using the same methods, it calculated the average value of the oral health beliefs and the number of dental clinic utilization, inferred the related
factors of economically inactive women, and then compared these factors and average value with those of economically active women.
In the analysis of related factors, multiple regression analysis and path analysis were applied..
The results of this research are as follows:
1. Economically active women showed a lower level of perceived salience and perceived barrier than economically inactive women but showed little difference in perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, and perceived benefit.
2. The factors that had the influence on oral health beliefs of economically active women are different from those of economically inactive women and economic factors had the big influence on economically active women in oral health beliefs.
3. The number of dental clinic utilization of economically active women was not statistically different from that of economically inactive women but the rate of frequent users of dental clinics was higher in the group of economically active women.
4. The perceived susceptibility among 5 items of oral health beliefs was the factor which had the highest relevance to the number of dental clinic utilization in both groups of economically active and inactive women.
5. The factors that showed relatively high relevance´ to the number of dental clinic utilization for economically active women were perception about overall physical state of one´s body, the perceived barrier among 5 items of oral health beliefs, and the level of communication among family. members and for economically inactive women, perception about overall physical state of body and the perceived salience were the highly relevant factors.
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