In response to a renewed interest in Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for meeting population oral health needs, Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) countries are beginning to align their national health agenda towards UHC. The Interactive Talk presentation, “Factors Influencing Implementation of Oral-health Policies in BRICS: Scoping Review” will be presented by Lakshmi Balraj of the Maastricht University, Netherlands and will take place on Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 3:45 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+08:00) during the “Keynote Address; Global Oral Health Inequalities Research Network I” session.
This scoping review explored policies implemented for promoting oral health in BRICS countries and factors influencing its implementation. A systematic replicable search strategy with pre-defined search terms, restricted to the English language from 2000 to 2021 time-period, was applied to four electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source via EBSCOhost). The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews was followed. Two reviewers independently conducted the study selection and characterization. A total of 3372 records were retrieved from database searching; 22 studies (Brazil – 9, Russia – 0, India – 4, China – 2, South Africa - 7) met the inclusion criteria and were eligible for final synthesis. Policies identified from the included articles were categorized as policies exclusively for oral health, integrative, health promoting schools, dental work force and fluoridation-related. The evolving themes identified the various barriers and facilitators in oral health policy implementation in BRICS countries: socio-economic status, national health priorities, political will and advocacy, policy content, policy actors and their leadership, infrastructure and human resources/workforce, attitude of local communities and policy implementers.
The authors concluded that development of oral health policies is mainly shaped by historical contexts of individual countries. However, their implementation is influenced by a multitude of factors. Findings from this scoping review contributes to dental research and helps policymakers, leaders, and oral healthcare professionals to shape oral health policy development and implementation in BRICS countries and beyond.
View this Interactive Talk in the IADR General Session Virtual Experience Platform.
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