Oral Health Policy and Research Capacity: Perspectives From Dental Schools in Africa

Olivia Urquhart; Cleopatra N Matanhire-Zihanzu; Roopali Kulkarni; Emilio Alberto Parrado; Hind Aljarahi; Ankita Shashikant Bhosale; Omoigberai Braimoh; John Button; Timothy Chifamba; Adeyemi Tope Emmanuel; Agnes Gatarayiha; Iliana V Kohler; Carolina Castro Martins-Pfeifer; Basil T Ojukwu; Miriam Robbins; Oyinkansola Sofola; Olaniyi O Taiwo; Omolara Uti; Yuka Makino; Michael Glick; Alonso Carrasco-Labra

doi:10.1016/j.identj.2024.01.020

Oral Health Policy and Research Capacity: Perspectives From Dental Schools in Africa

Int Dent J. 2024 Apr 26:S0020-6539(24)00045-5. doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2024.01.020. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Olivia Urquhart¹, Cleopatra N Matanhire-Zihanzu², Roopali Kulkarni³, Emilio Alberto Parrado⁴, Hind Aljarahi¹, Ankita Shashikant Bhosale¹, Omoigberai Braimoh⁵, John Button¹, Timothy Chifamba², Adeyemi Tope Emmanuel⁶, Agnes Gatarayiha⁷, Iliana V Kohler⁸, Carolina Castro Martins-Pfeifer⁹, Basil T Ojukwu¹⁰, Miriam Robbins³, Oyinkansola Sofola¹¹, Olaniyi O Taiwo¹², Omolara Uti¹³, Yuka Makino¹⁴, Michael Glick¹⁵, Alonso Carrasco-Labra¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Integrative Global Oral Health, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
² Department of Oral Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe.
³ Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁴ Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Department of Community Dentistry and Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Porty Harcourt, Nigeria.
⁶ Department of Child Dental Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Bayero University, Kano/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Tarauni, Kano, Nigeria.
⁷ Department of preventive and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
⁸ Population Studies Center (PSC) and Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁹ Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
¹⁰ Department of Public Health, Intercountry Centre for Oral Health (ICOH) for Africa, Jos Plateau State, Nigeria.
¹¹ Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-araba, Lagos, Nigeria.
¹² Intercountry Center for Oral Health (ICOH) for Africa, Jos Plateau State, Nigeria.
¹³ Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi Araba, Lagos, Nigeria.
¹⁴ NCDs management team, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
¹⁵ Center for Integrative Global Oral Health, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Electronic address: glickmi@upenn.edu.

PMID: 38677971
DOI: 10.1016/j.identj.2024.01.020

Abstract

Introduction and aims: The prioritisation of oral health in all health policies in the WHO African region is gaining momentum. Dental schools in this region are key stakeholders in informing the development and subsequent downstream implementation and monitoring of these policies. The objectives of our study are to determine how dental schools contribute to oral health policies (OHPs) in this region, to identify the barriers to and facilitators for engaging with other local stakeholders, and to understand their capacity to respond to population and public health needs.

Methods: We developed a needs assessment survey, including quantitative and qualitative questions. The survey was developed electronically in Qualtrics and distributed by email in February 2023 to the deans or other designees at dental schools in the WHO African region. Data were analysed in SAS version 9.4 and ATLAS.ti.

Results: The capacity for dental schools to respond to population and public health needs varied. Most schools have postgraduate programs to train the next generation of researchers. However, these programs have limitations that may hinder the students from achieving the necessary skills and training. A majority (75%) of respondents were aware of the existence of national OHPs and encountered a myriad of challenges when engaging with them, including a lack of coordination with other stakeholders, resources, and oral health professionals, and the low priority given to oral health. Their strengths as technical experts and researchers was a common facilitator for engaging with OHPs.

Conclusion: Dental schools in the region face common challenges and facilitators in engaging in the OHP process. There were several school-specific research and training capacities that enabled them to respond to population and public health needs. Overall, shared challenges and facilitators can inform stakeholder dialogues at a national and subnational level and help develop tailored solutions for enhancing the oral health policy pipeline.

Keywords: Barrier; Facilitator; Oral health; Policy; Research; WHO African region.