Ayibuofu-Uwandi, V. and Dyer, T.A. (2024) What are the public health benefits of community-based education in dentistry? A scoping review. British Dental Journal. ISSN 0007-0610
Abstract
Aim: To examine what is known about the public health benefits of community-based education in dentistry.
Method: A scoping review was conducted using a modified Arksey and O'Malley framework. Database searches were undertaken on PubMed, Medline via Ovid, CINAHL via EBSCO and ERIC, and a grey literature search was undertaken on OpenGrey, Medlar, BASE and the British Library. Reference lists of included studies were also searched. Although no formal quality assessment was undertaken, observations on methodological rigour were recorded.
Results: In total, 31 studies from nine countries met the inclusion criteria. Most were from high-income countries. Methodologies of included studies varied: quantitative (n = 17); qualitative (n = 5); mixed methods (n = 6); and reviews (n = 3). Several potential public health benefits were reported: increased access to dental services (including improvements in their availability, affordability, acceptability, accessibility, and accommodation); improved awareness/health literacy of students and communities; and improved clinical outcomes. The overall quality of the evidence was low and had little community engagement.
Conclusion: Notwithstanding the methodological limitations of the included studies, several potential public health benefits have been associated with community-based education in dentistry. Rigorously designed, methodologically appropriate research is needed, which should include engagement with communities.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. |
Keywords: | Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; Clinical Sciences; Health Services; Clinical Research; Organisation and delivery of services; Generic health relevance; Oral and gastrointestinal |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Clinical Dentistry (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 26 Mar 2025 14:15 |
Last Modified: | 26 Mar 2025 14:15 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41415-024-7908-4 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:224879 |