A proposed one-stop-shop approach for the delivery of integrated oral, mental, sexual and reproductive healthcare to adolescents in Nigeria.

The interconnectedness of oral, mental, sexual, and reproductive health (OMSRH) in adolescents prompts exploration of novel approaches to facilitate comprehensive access of this population to the relevant health services. This paper proposes an integrated one-stop-shop approach to increasing adolescents' access to OMSRH care by leveraging on dental clinics as a template for integration, using a non-stigmatized platform to deliver stigmatized healthcare. Novel healthcare delivery models are needed to enhance adolescents' access to the comprehensive prevention and treatment services that they critically need. Effective, integrated health care for this population is lacking, especially across various health areas. This is a proposal for leveraging dental clinics for integrated OMSRH care, using facility-based services, to adolescents. Emphasis will be placed on reducing stigma as a barrier to service accessibility, acceptability, equitability and appropriateness. Empirical studies will be required to test the feasibility, validity and effectiveness of this proposed model.

Evaluation of the quality of oral health care in Primary Health Care in Pernambuco, Brazil, 2014. / Avaliação da qualidade da assistência em saúde bucal na Atenção Primária à Saúde em Pernambuco, 2014.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the quality of oral health care in Primary Health Care services in Pernambuco state, Brazil, 2014. METHODS: this was an ecological health evaluation study based on the Donabedian model, involving secondary data from the 2nd cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Health Care (PMAQ-AB); comparison between the structure, process and outcome variables was done using the Kruskal-Wallis test (p<0.050); variables showing statistical significance (p<0.05) were portrayed through thematic and spatial dependence maps. Results: the standard of quality in the municipalities for the 'Structure' dimension gained better scores than the 'Work process' dimension; correlations were identified between the indicators for dental urgency, supervised tooth brushing coverage and treatments completed, in quality strata related to the work process of the Oral Health teams. CONCLUSION: organization of the work process was seen to be a determining factor in the impact on some indicators of service use.

[Primary dental healthcare in Brazil: the work process of oral health teams]. / Atenção primária à saúde bucal no Brasil: processo de trabalho das equipes de saúde bucal.

Ensuring access to dental care services requires the development of healthsurveillance practices to ensure comprehensive health care. The objective of this study was toinvestigate the association between social and economic indicators of Brazilian municipalities, work process characteristics, and performance of a list of curative dental procedures by oral health teams. It involved an exploratory, cross-sectional study withmulticenter data collection from 11,374 oral health teams assessed by the National Program for Improvement of Access to and Quality of Primary Healthcare. Multilevel Poisson regression was used to obtain the prevalence of curative dental procedures, which was 69.51%. The social/economic and work variables that remained associated with the outcome included municipalities in which the proportion of primary care-sensitive admissions was below 28% and that of tooth extractions below 8%; and oral health teams classified as type II (including oral health assistant and technician) that had different materials available and better work processes. This multilevel analysis, which took into consideration the performance of curative dental care in Brazil, reveals a worrying oral healthcare scenario.

A garantia de atenção odontológica passa pelo desenvolvimento de práticas pautadas na vigilância em saúde, a fim de concretizar a integralidade. Objetivou-se avaliar a associação entre aspectos contextuais dos municípios brasileiros, características do processo de trabalho e a realização de um rol de procedimentos odontológicos curativos pelas equipes de saúde bucal (ESB). Trata-se de estudo exploratório transversal cuja coleta multicêntrica de dados se deu em 11.374 ESB avaliadas pelo Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da Atenção Básica. Foi empregada regressão de Poisson multinível para obtenção da prevalência de realização de procedimentos odontológicos curativos, que foi de 69,51%. As variáveis contextuais e da equipe de saúde que se mantiveram associadas ao desfecho incluíram municípios cuja proporção de internações sensíveis à atenção básica foi menor que 28% e cuja proporção de exodontias foi menor que 8%; bem como ESB de modalidade II que tinham à disposição materiais, insumos e melhores processos de trabalho. Esta análise multinível, que considera o desempenho da atenção odontológica curativa no Brasil, aponta para um cenário de atenção odontológica preocupante.

Atenção primária à saúde bucal no Brasil: processo de trabalho das equipes de saúde bucal / Primary dental healthcare in Brazil: the work process of oral health teams

Resumo A garantia de atenção odontológica passa pelo desenvolvimento de práticas pautadas na vigilância em saúde, a fim de concretizar a integralidade. Objetivou-se avaliar a associação entre aspectos contextuais dos municípios brasileiros, características do processo de trabalho e a realização de um rol de procedimentos odontológicos curativos pelas equipes de saúde bucal (ESB). Trata-se de estudo exploratório transversal cuja coleta multicêntrica de dados se deu em 11.374 ESB avaliadas pelo Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da Atenção Básica. Foi empregada regressão de Poisson multinível para obtenção da prevalência de realização de procedimentos odontológicos curativos, que foi de 69,51%. As variáveis contextuais e da equipe de saúde que se mantiveram associadas ao desfecho incluíram municípios cuja proporção de internações sensíveis à atenção básica foi menor que 28% e cuja proporção de exodontias foi menor que 8%; bem como ESB de modalidade II que tinham à disposição materiais, insumos e melhores processos de trabalho. Esta análise multinível, que considera o desempenho da atenção odontológica curativa no Brasil, aponta para um cenário de atenção odontológica preocupante.

Abstract Ensuring access to dental care services requires the development of healthsurveillance practices to ensure comprehensive health care. The objective of this study was toinvestigate the association between social and economic indicators of Brazilian municipalities, work process characteristics, and performance of a list of curative dental procedures by oral health teams. It involved an exploratory, cross-sectional study withmulticenter data collection from 11,374 oral health teams assessed by the National Program for Improvement of Access to and Quality of Primary Healthcare. Multilevel Poisson regression was used to obtain the prevalence of curative dental procedures, which was 69.51%. The social/economic and work variables that remained associated with the outcome included municipalities in which the proportion of primary care-sensitive admissions was below 28% and that of tooth extractions below 8%; and oral health teams classified as type II (including oral health assistant and technician) that had different materials available and better work processes. This multilevel analysis, which took into consideration the performance of curative dental care in Brazil, reveals a worrying oral healthcare scenario.

Process evaluation of the midwifery initiated oral health-dental service program: perceptions of pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women in Australia seldom seek dental care and are unaware of its importance. To address these gaps the midwifery-initiated oral health dental service (MIOH-DS) program was comprehensive trialled and found effective. The aim of this study was to undertake a process evaluation of the MIOH-DS using the perspectives of pregnant women who participated in the trial. METHODS: A qualitative research design was utilized, whereby content analysis was undertaken on data from 11 semi-structured interviews with women who participated in the program. RESULTS: All participants were receptive of the MIOH-DS intervention, and found it to be an acceptable intervention that met their needs, and encouraged future positive oral health practices and health-seeking behaviours. They expressed that midwives were an appropriate professional to conduct oral health assessments, education and referrals to affordable dental services. Although some participants were initially apprehensive towards receiving treatment during pregnancy, dental staff members were able to appropriately educate and reassure them during treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The MIOH-DS represents a promising and acceptable intervention strategy for pregnant women to promote their oral health. Findings merit further investigation on whether positive outcomes achieved can be sustained when implemented in other national or international settings similar to the study setting.

Implementation of dental specialty centers: a descriptive analysis of the current status in the Brazilian territory

ABSTRACT This study aimed to assess the current implementation status of Dental Specialty Centers (Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas - CEO) in Brazil. The sample included CEOs implemented up to November 2015 in the 27 Brazilian federative units. Data were obtained directly from the database of the Informatics Department of the Brazilian Unified Health System, according to the National Registry of Health Facilities (NRHF) of Dental Specialty Centers of all Brazilian regions. Primary care data were also collected from the cities with implemented CEOs, including coverage status of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) and number of Oral Health Teams (OHT) I and II, at 2 collection periods (January 2006 and November 2015). There were 1019 CEOs implemented in Brazil, which were unequally distributed among the Brazilian states, with prevalence of implementation of CEOs type II (n=503, 49.4%). The statistical analysis showed significant difference between the three types of CEO (I, II, and III) and the variables of coverage rate (FHS) and number of teams (OHT I, OHT II) at both data collection periods. Although presenting an evolutionary aspect in the implementation of CEOs, the implementation of medium-complexity care in Brazil is disorganized.

[The regionalized healthcare network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, from 2011 to 2015: governance system and oral healthcare]. / Rede regionalizada de atenção à saúde no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil, entre 2011 e 2015: sistema de governança e a atenção à saúde bucal.

: The objective was to describe the governance system used in structuring the regionalized healthcare network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, based on the Bipartite Inter-Managerial Commission (CIB), with a focus on structuring of oral healthcare. This was a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive documental study, based on the foundations of governance as an analytical tool through identification of the dimensions actors, norms, nodal points, and processes. Secondary data were collected from the minutes of CIB meetings held from January 2011 to December 2015. The analysis shows weaknesses in CIB governance in Santa Catarina in relation to regionalized structuring of oral healthcare from a network perspective. Structuring of oral healthcare occurs in parallel to that of other thematic networks in the state and shows the expansion of dental services, especially those with medium complexity, as an effect of the prevailing governance process. The relations established between administrators and decision-making processes allowed recognizing this network's "prescription", since there is little negotiation and local demand, limited more to following recommendations and incentives from the federal/state sphere, intermediated by staff from the State Health Secretariat. Thus, setting a policy agenda for oral healthcare for the population of Santa Catarina is weakened, with a peripheral position in relation to other health programs.

Objetivou-se descrever o sistema de governança empreendido na estruturação da rede regionalizada de atenção à saúde no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil, baseando-se na Comissão Intergestores Bipartite (CIB), tendo como foco a estruturação da atenção à saúde bucal. Trata-se de um estudo de cunho qualitativo, exploratório-descritivo, do tipo documental, tendo por base os fundamentos da governança como ferramenta analítica, por meio da identificação das dimensões atores, normas, pontos nodais e processos. Dados secundários foram coletados em atas de reuniões realizadas pela CIB entre janeiro de 2011 e dezembro de 2015. A análise mostra fragilidades na governança empreendida pela CIB catarinense no que concerne à estruturação da atenção à saúde bucal de forma regionalizada e sob a perspectiva de rede. A estruturação da atenção à saúde bucal ocorre de forma paralela a outras redes temáticas no estado e apresenta a expansão dos serviços odontológicos, principalmente de média complexidade, como efeito do processo de governança vigente. As relações estabelecidas entre os gestores e os processos decisórios identificados permitiram reconhecer a "prescrição" dessa rede, visto que há pouca negociação e demanda local, sendo mais restrita ao seguimento de recomendações e incentivos da esfera federal/estadual, estes intermediados por técnicos da secretaria estadual. Dessa forma, a definição de agenda propícia à formulação de política voltada para a atenção à saúde bucal dos catarinenses torna-se fragilizada e apresenta um posicionamento periférico frente às demais ações de saúde.

El objetivo fue describir el sistema de gobernanza emprendido en la estructuración de la red regionalizada de atención a la salud, en el estado de Santa Catarina, basándose en la Comisión Intergestores Bipartita (CIB), cuyo propósito fue la estructuración de la atención a la salud bucal. Se trata de un estudio de cuño cualitativo, exploratorio-descriptivo, de tipo documental, teniendo como base los fundamentos de la gobernanza, como herramienta analítica, mediante la identificación de las dimensiones: actores, normas, puntos nodales y procesos. Los datos secundarios se recogieron en las actas de reuniones realizadas por la CIB, entre enero de 2011 y diciembre de 2015. El análisis muestra debilidades en la gobernanza emprendida por la CIB catarinense, en lo que concierne a la estructuración de la atención a la salud bucal de forma regionalizada y desde su perspectiva de red. La estructuración de la atención a la salud bucal se produce de forma paralela a otras redes temáticas en el estado y presenta la expansión de servicios odontológicos, principalmente de media complejidad, como consecuencia del proceso de gobernanza vigente. Las relaciones establecidas entre los gestores y los procesos decisorios identificados permitieron reconocer la "prescripción" de esta red, visto que existe poca negociación y demanda local, estando más restringida al seguimiento de recomendaciones e incentivos de la esfera federal/estatal, además intermediada por técnicos de la secretaría estatal. De esta forma, la definición de esta agenda, propicia a la formulación de políticas dirigidas hacia la atención a la salud bucal de los catarinenses, se debilita y presenta una posición periférica frente a las demás acciones de salud.

Implementation of dental specialty centers: a descriptive analysis of the current status in the Brazilian territory.

This study aimed to assess the current implementation status of Dental Specialty Centers (Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas - CEO) in Brazil. The sample included CEOs implemented up to November 2015 in the 27 Brazilian federative units. Data were obtained directly from the database of the Informatics Department of the Brazilian Unified Health System, according to the National Registry of Health Facilities (NRHF) of Dental Specialty Centers of all Brazilian regions. Primary care data were also collected from the cities with implemented CEOs, including coverage status of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) and number of Oral Health Teams (OHT) I and II, at 2 collection periods (January 2006 and November 2015). There were 1019 CEOs implemented in Brazil, which were unequally distributed among the Brazilian states, with prevalence of implementation of CEOs type II (n=503, 49.4%). The statistical analysis showed significant difference between the three types of CEO (I, II, and III) and the variables of coverage rate (FHS) and number of teams (OHT I, OHT II) at both data collection periods. Although presenting an evolutionary aspect in the implementation of CEOs, the implementation of medium-complexity care in Brazil is disorganized.

Preventive Dental Care: An Educational Program to Integrate Oral Care Into Pediatric Oncology
.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood dental caries (dental cavities) is an infectious process. The development of oral problems during cancer care results in pain, fever, and delay in treatment.ʉ۩. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this project was to integrate preventive oral care into pediatric oncology care.ʉ۩. METHODS: This project consisted of an educational program for pediatric oncology providers who completed pre- and postprogram surveys assessing oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practice; attended an oral health education session; and performed oral assessment and fluoride varnish application on children during cancer treatment.ʉ۩. FINDINGS: Three major outcomes resulted from this project.

[The interface between primary and secondary care in dentistry in the Unified Health System (SUS): an integrative systematic review]. / Interface entre a Atenção Primária e a Secundária em odontologia no Sistema Único de Saúde: uma revisão sistemática integrativa.

Secondary care in dentistry in Brazil has scarce and broadly underutilized resources. The challenge is to organize the interface between primary health care (PHC) and secondary care in order to consolidate the population's access to specialist dental care in the Unified Health System (SUS). This article seeks to analyze national publications in Portuguese and English on the interface between secondary health care and primary health care in dentistry from the perspective of comprehensive care in the SUS. It is an integrative review, considering the publications of the following databases: SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature) WEB OF SCIENCE, SCOPUS, PubMed (International Literature on Health Sciences) and GOOGLE SCHOLAR. The search located 966 articles, of which 12 were used in full. Coverage of the oral health teams (ESB) in the family health strategy (ESF), primary health care implementation in a structured way, access to secondary health care, counter-referral to PHC, development of indicators and socioeconomic conditions and inequalities in the distribution of dental specialist centers (CEO) are factors that influence the integrity of oral health care in the SUS.

Interface entre a Atenção Primária e a Secundária em odontologia no Sistema Único de Saúde: uma revisão sistemática integrativa / The interface between primary and secondary care in dentistry in the Unified Health System (SUS): an integrative systematic review

Resumo A atenção secundária em odontologia no Brasil apresenta recursos escassos e em grande parte subutilizados. O desafio consiste em realizar a interface entre a atenção primária à saúde (APS) e a atenção secundária de forma a consolidar o acesso da população à atenção odontológica especializada no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). O objetivo deste artigo é analisar publicações nacionais em língua portuguesa e inglesa sobre a interface entre a atenção secundária e a APS em odontologia na perspectiva da integralidade do cuidado no âmbito do SUS. Revisão integrativa considerando as publicações dos seguintes bancos de dados: SciELO (Scientific Eletronic Library Online), Lilacs (Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe), Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed (Literatura Internacional em Ciências da Saúde) e Google Acadêmico. Foram encontrados 966 artigos, dos quais 12 foram utilizados na integra. A cobertura das equipes de saúde bucal (ESB) nas estratégias de saúde da família (ESF), a implantação da APS de forma estruturada, o acesso a atenção secundária, o contrarreferenciamento para APS, os indicadores de desenvolvimento e as condições socioeconômicas e desigualdades na distribuição dos CEO's são fatores que influenciam a integralidade do cuidado em saúde bucal no SUS.

Abstract Secondary care in dentistry in Brazil has scarce and broadly underutilized resources. The challenge is to organize the interface between primary health care (PHC) and secondary care in order to consolidate the population's access to specialist dental care in the Unified Health System (SUS). This article seeks to analyze national publications in Portuguese and English on the interface between secondary health care and primary health care in dentistry from the perspective of comprehensive care in the SUS. It is an integrative review, considering the publications of the following databases: SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature) WEB OF SCIENCE, SCOPUS, PubMed (International Literature on Health Sciences) and GOOGLE SCHOLAR. The search located 966 articles, of which 12 were used in full. Coverage of the oral health teams (ESB) in the family health strategy (ESF), primary health care implementation in a structured way, access to secondary health care, counter-referral to PHC, development of indicators and socioeconomic conditions and inequalities in the distribution of dental specialist centers (CEO) are factors that influence the integrity of oral health care in the SUS.

Rede regionalizada de atenção à saúde no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil, entre 2011 e 2015: sistema de governança e a atenção à saúde bucal / The regionalized healthcare network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, from 2011 to 2015: governance system and oral healthcare / Red regionalizada de atención a la salud en el Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil, entre 2011 y 2015: sistema de gobernanza y atención a la salud bucal

Resumo: Objetivou-se descrever o sistema de governança empreendido na estruturação da rede regionalizada de atenção à saúde no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil, baseando-se na Comissão Intergestores Bipartite (CIB), tendo como foco a estruturação da atenção à saúde bucal. Trata-se de um estudo de cunho qualitativo, exploratório-descritivo, do tipo documental, tendo por base os fundamentos da governança como ferramenta analítica, por meio da identificação das dimensões atores, normas, pontos nodais e processos. Dados secundários foram coletados em atas de reuniões realizadas pela CIB entre janeiro de 2011 e dezembro de 2015. A análise mostra fragilidades na governança empreendida pela CIB catarinense no que concerne à estruturação da atenção à saúde bucal de forma regionalizada e sob a perspectiva de rede. A estruturação da atenção à saúde bucal ocorre de forma paralela a outras redes temáticas no estado e apresenta a expansão dos serviços odontológicos, principalmente de média complexidade, como efeito do processo de governança vigente. As relações estabelecidas entre os gestores e os processos decisórios identificados permitiram reconhecer a "prescrição" dessa rede, visto que há pouca negociação e demanda local, sendo mais restrita ao seguimento de recomendações e incentivos da esfera federal/estadual, estes intermediados por técnicos da secretaria estadual. Dessa forma, a definição de agenda propícia à formulação de política voltada para a atenção à saúde bucal dos catarinenses torna-se fragilizada e apresenta um posicionamento periférico frente às demais ações de saúde.

Abstract: The objective was to describe the governance system used in structuring the regionalized healthcare network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, based on the Bipartite Inter-Managerial Commission (CIB), with a focus on structuring of oral healthcare. This was a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive documental study, based on the foundations of governance as an analytical tool through identification of the dimensions actors, norms, nodal points, and processes. Secondary data were collected from the minutes of CIB meetings held from January 2011 to December 2015. The analysis shows weaknesses in CIB governance in Santa Catarina in relation to regionalized structuring of oral healthcare from a network perspective. Structuring of oral healthcare occurs in parallel to that of other thematic networks in the state and shows the expansion of dental services, especially those with medium complexity, as an effect of the prevailing governance process. The relations established between administrators and decision-making processes allowed recognizing this network's "prescription", since there is little negotiation and local demand, limited more to following recommendations and incentives from the federal/state sphere, intermediated by staff from the State Health Secretariat. Thus, setting a policy agenda for oral healthcare for the population of Santa Catarina is weakened, with a peripheral position in relation to other health programs.

Resumen: El objetivo fue describir el sistema de gobernanza emprendido en la estructuración de la red regionalizada de atención a la salud, en el estado de Santa Catarina, basándose en la Comisión Intergestores Bipartita (CIB), cuyo propósito fue la estructuración de la atención a la salud bucal. Se trata de un estudio de cuño cualitativo, exploratorio-descriptivo, de tipo documental, teniendo como base los fundamentos de la gobernanza, como herramienta analítica, mediante la identificación de las dimensiones: actores, normas, puntos nodales y procesos. Los datos secundarios se recogieron en las actas de reuniones realizadas por la CIB, entre enero de 2011 y diciembre de 2015. El análisis muestra debilidades en la gobernanza emprendida por la CIB catarinense, en lo que concierne a la estructuración de la atención a la salud bucal de forma regionalizada y desde su perspectiva de red. La estructuración de la atención a la salud bucal se produce de forma paralela a otras redes temáticas en el estado y presenta la expansión de servicios odontológicos, principalmente de media complejidad, como consecuencia del proceso de gobernanza vigente. Las relaciones establecidas entre los gestores y los procesos decisorios identificados permitieron reconocer la "prescripción" de esta red, visto que existe poca negociación y demanda local, estando más restringida al seguimiento de recomendaciones e incentivos de la esfera federal/estatal, además intermediada por técnicos de la secretaría estatal. De esta forma, la definición de esta agenda, propicia a la formulación de políticas dirigidas hacia la atención a la salud bucal de los catarinenses, se debilita y presenta una posición periférica frente a las demás acciones de salud.

Quality Improvement: Indigenous Influence in Oral Health Policy, Process, and Practice.

A Quality Improvement Group for Maori oral health providers [Indigenous New Zealand oral health services] has been an effective and necessary mechanism for engaging Indigenous oral health expertise in decision-making for Indigenous oral health policy and sector developments to reduce oral health inequalities and improve Indigenous oral health outcomes.

Population-centered Risk- and Evidence-based Dental Interprofessional Care Team (PREDICT): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: To improve the oral health of low-income children, innovations in dental delivery systems are needed, including community-based care, the use of expanded duty auxiliary dental personnel, capitation payments, and global budgets. This paper describes the protocol for PREDICT (Population-centered Risk- and Evidence-based Dental Interprofessional Care Team), an evaluation project to test the effectiveness of new delivery and payment systems for improving dental care and oral health. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a parallel-group cluster randomized controlled trial. Fourteen rural Oregon counties with a publicly insured (Medicaid) population of 82,000 children (0 to 21 years old) and pregnant women served by a managed dental care organization are randomized into test and control counties. In the test intervention (PREDICT), allied dental personnel provide screening and preventive services in community settings and case managers serve as patient navigators to arrange referrals of children who need dentist services. The delivery system intervention is paired with a compensation system for high performance (pay-for-performance) with efficient performance monitoring. PREDICT focuses on the following: 1) identifying eligible children and gaining caregiver consent for services in community settings (for example, schools); 2) providing risk-based preventive and caries stabilization services efficiently at these settings; 3) providing curative care in dental clinics; and 4) incentivizing local delivery teams to meet performance benchmarks. In the control intervention, care is delivered in dental offices without performance incentives. The primary outcome is the prevalence of untreated dental caries. Other outcomes are related to process, structure and cost. Data are collected through patient and staff surveys, clinical examinations, and the review of health and administrative records. DISCUSSION: If effective, PREDICT is expected to substantially reduce disparities in dental care and oral health. PREDICT can be disseminated to other care organizations as publicly insured clients are increasingly served by large practice organizations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02312921 6 December 2014. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Advantage Dental Services, LLC, are supporting the evaluation.

A decade of experience evolving visiting dental services in partnership with rural remote Aboriginal communities.

BACKGROUND: Embedding research capabilities and workforce development activities with clinical service entities promotes the development of sustainable, innovative, quality-focused oral health care services. Clinical and strategic governance is an important area of consideration for rural and remote dental services, posing particular challenges for smaller service structures. Sustaining remote area dental services has some significant complexities beyond those involved in urban service models. METHODS: This study describes the sustaining structure of a remote area dental service with a decade of history. RESULTS: In the current climate, chief among these challenges may be those associated with dental workforce shortages as these impact most heavily in the public sector, and most particularly, in remote areas. As sustained workforce solutions come from developing a future workforce, an essential element of the workforce governance framework for remote dental service provision should be the inclusion of a student participation programme. Collaborative partnership approaches with Aboriginal health services promote the development and maintenance of effective, culturally sensitive dental services within rural and remote Aboriginal communities. Having sustained care for 10 years, this collaborative model of integrated research, education and service has demonstrated its effectiveness as a service model for Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. CONCLUSIONS: This descriptive study finds the core values for this success have been communication, clinical leadership, mentorship within effective governance systems all linked to an integrated education and research agenda.

Health-oriented electronic oral health record: development and evaluation.

This study aims to develop and evaluate a new Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record that implements the health-oriented status and intervention index. The index takes the principles of holistic oral healthcare and applies them to the design and implementation of the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record. We designed an experiment using focus groups and a consensus (Delphi process) method to develop a new health-oriented status and intervention index and graphical user interface. A comparative intervention study with qualitative and quantitative methods was used to compare an existing Electronic Oral Health Record to the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record, focusing on dentist satisfaction, accuracy, and completeness of oral health status recording. The study was conducted by the dental staff of the Inter-country Center for Oral Health collaborative hospitals in Thailand. Overall, the user satisfaction questionnaire had a positive response to the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record. The dentists found it easy to use and were generally satisfied with the impact on their work, oral health services, and surveillance. The dentists were significantly satisfied with the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record compared to the existing Electronic Oral Health Record (p < 0.001). The accuracy and completeness values of the oral health information recorded using the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record were 97.15 and 93.74 percent, respectively. This research concludes that the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record satisfied many dentists, provided benefits to holistic oral healthcare, and facilitated the planning, managing, and evaluation of the healthcare delivery system.

[An oral health care network organized by large municipalities in Santa Catarina State, Brazil]. / Rede de atenção à saúde bucal: organização em municípios de grande porte de Santa Catarina, Brasil.

This study aims to analyze the oral health care network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, in municipalities with 100,000 inhabitants or more, focusing on the identification and integration of the network's essential elements. Primary data were obtained through a structured questionnaire applied to oral health care administrators. Secondary data were collected from official databases and provided by the Municipal and State Health Departments. The municipalities offer oral health services at all levels of care, but they are in different stages in implementation of the network. They have taken some measures to consolidate the network, such as inclusion of tools for integration of primary services to specialized care and reorientation of primary health care as the network's central coordinating element. Limitations include difficulty in defining the network's clientele based on epidemiological criteria, insufficient logistics and governance systems, and the need to expand oral health teams in the family health strategy, operating under health surveillance principles.

Integration of primary health services: being put together does not mean they will work together.

BACKGROUND: This paper reports on an Australian experience of co-locating a range of different primary health services into one building, with the aim of providing integrated services. It discusses some of the early challenges involved with moving services together and reasons why collaborative and integrated working relationships to improve the clients' journey, may remain elusive. METHODS: Ethnographic observational data was collected within a GP plus site as part of day-to-day interactions between the research officer and health professionals. This involved observations of team processes within and across teams at the site. Observations were thematically analysed using a social anthropological approach. RESULTS: Three main themes arose from the analysis: Infrastructural impediments to collaboration; Territorialism; and Interprofessional practice (IPP) simply not on the agenda. The experience of this setting demonstrates that dedicated staff and resources are needed to keep IPP on the agenda of health service organisations. This is especially important where organisations are attempting to implement new models of collaborative and co-located services. Furthermore, it shows that establishing IPP within newly co-located services is a process that needs time to develop, as part of teams building trust with each other in new circumstances, in order to eventually build a new cultural identity for the co-located services. CONCLUSIONS: Co-located health service systems can be complex, with competing priorities and differing strategic plans and performance indicators to meet. This, coupled with the tendency for policy makers to move on to their next issue of focus, and to shift resources in the process, means that adequate time and resources for IPP are often overlooked. Shared interprofessional student placements may be one way forward.

Rede de atencao a saude bucal: organizacao em municipios de grande porte de Santa Catarina, Brasil / An oral health care network organized by large municipalities in Santa Catarina State, Brazil / Red de atencion de la salud oral: organizacion en los grandes municipios de Santa Catarina, Brasil

O estudo objetivou analisar a rede de atenção à saúde bucal em municípios com mais de 100 mil habitantes de Santa Catarina, Brasil, pela identificação e integração de seus elementos constitutivos. Dados primários foram obtidos por meio da aplicação de questionário aos gestores municipais de saúde bucal. Dados secundários foram coletados em bases de dados do SUS e fornecidos pelas Secretarias Municipais e Estadual de Saúde. Os municípios ofertam serviços de saúde bucal em todos os níveis de atenção, mas encontram-se em distintos estágios de implementação da rede. Também realizam algumas ações para consolidação desta, como inserção de ferramentas para integração dos serviços de atenção básica aos especializados e reorientação da atenção básica, como coordenadora da rede. As limitações incluem dificuldade em definir a população da rede de acordo com critérios epidemiológicos, fragilidade dos sistemas logísticos e de governança, além da necessidade de ampliação das equipes de saúde bucal na Estratégia Saúde da Família, operando segundo princípios de vigilância à saúde.

This study aims to analyze the oral health care network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, in municipalities with 100,000 inhabitants or more, focusing on the identification and integration of the network’s essential elements. Primary data were obtained through a structured questionnaire applied to oral health care administrators. Secondary data were collected from official databases and provided by the Municipal and State Health Departments. The municipalities offer oral health services at all levels of care, but they are in different stages in implementation of the network. They have taken some measures to consolidate the network, such as inclusion of tools for integration of primary services to specialized care and reorientation of primary health care as the network’s central coordinating element. Limitations include difficulty in defining the network’s clientele based on epidemiological criteria, insufficient logistics and governance systems, and the need to expand oral health teams in the family health strategy, operating under health surveillance principles.

Se objetivó analizar la red de servicios de salud bucal en municipios de Santa Catarina, Brasil, con más de 100 mil habitantes a través de la identificación e integración de sus elementos constitutivos. Los datos primarios se obtuvieron vía cuestionario, aplicado a los gerentes de la salud oral municipal. Los datos secundarios fueron recogidos en bases de datos oficiales y proporcionados por las Secretarías Municipales de Salud y del Estado. Los municipios ofrecen servicios de salud oral en todos los niveles de atención, pero se encuentran en diferentes etapas de implementación de red. Efectúan algunas acciones para consolidar la red como: la inclusión de herramientas para la integración de los servicios de atención primaria con los servicios especializados y la reorientación de la atención primaria como coordinadora de la red. Las limitaciones incluyen la dificultad en la definición de su población, según criterios epidemiológicos, la fragilidad de los sistemas logísticos y de gobernanza y la necesidad de ampliación de los equipos de salud oral en la estrategia de salud de la familia.