Inequalities in utilization and provision of dental services: a scoping review

Arash Ghanbarzadegan, Peivand Bastani, Liana Luzzi, David Brennan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)
35 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: There are many determinants that can affect inequality in oral and dental health. This study is aimed to explore the main determinants of inequality in both utilization and provision of dental services in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Methods: Four databases including PubMed, ISI WOS, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched up to 8 Aug 2020, applying the relevant keywords. Thematic analysis was used for synthesizing and extracting data. Trend analysis was applied to determine the trends of the inequality determinants. Results: Thematic analysis led to 6 main themes, 13 sub-themes, and 53 sub-sub-themes. The main themes represent the main inequality determinants for both utilization and provision of dental services. The streamgraph illustrated that fewer studies have been conducted on social and cultural determinants, and for almost all determinants the trend of published articles has been increasing since 2007, with the exception of health policies. Conclusions: Inequality in the utilization and provision of dental services is addressed by various factors including individual, social, cultural and economic determinants, health policies, and availability of services. The first four determinants are related to utilization and the last two are related to the provision of services. All these aspects must be considered to reduce inequality in dental services.

Original languageEnglish
Article number222
Number of pages11
JournalSystematic Reviews
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Developed countries
  • Disparities
  • Oral health

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