Shomuyiwa, D.O. orcid.org/0000-0001-6665-9439 and Bridge, G. orcid.org/0000-0001-7441-9849 (2023) Oral health of adolescents in West Africa: prioritizing its social determinants. Global Health Research and Policy, 8. 28. ISSN 2397-0642
Abstract
Oral health is a major public health issue in West Africa, yet it has gotten little attention. Individual and group disparities in health status are influenced by social determinants of health (SDH), which also affect oral health. Adolescence is a significant transition into adulthood, a time when the SDH can contribute to lifelong health status. This article explored the SDH associated with oral health behaviour, perception, and oral health development amongst adolescents in West Africa. This article engaged articles published in peer-reviewed journals relating to adolescents' oral health and West Africa. The authors undertook this desk review to determine the social determinants of adolescents' oral health in West Africa. The literacy levels and oral health awareness of adolescents, family and social circle influences, socioeconomic status, nutritional levels, and cultural and environmental factors have been identified as important social determinants. Adequate policy implementation with the integration of oral health in schools' curriculum, health systems reorientation with the adoption of oral health delivery in primary health care and expansion in oral health research with the assessment of cultural influences on oral health development have been recommended as interventions to reduce oral health inequalities in West Africa.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2023. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Social determinants of health; Oral health; Adolescents; Dental caries; Periodontitis; West Africa |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Apr 2024 10:18 |
Last Modified: | 04 Apr 2024 10:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMC |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/s41256-023-00313-2 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:211165 |
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