The oral health care experiences of NSW Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

Campbell, Megan; Hunt, Jennifer; Walker, David; Williams, R.

doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12294

Cited by 20 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This was achieved through the use of cultural artefacts [ 51 ], local language [ 62 ] and comfortable surroundings [ 44 ]. Stage Three: Health Care Reaching Patients’ Ability to Reach–eight papers Transport was considered to be the main factor which inhibited Indigenous people from reaching services [ 63 , 64 ] followed by a lack of communication services including telephones [ 65 ]. The lack of transport was further exacerbated when health care services were located outside of peoples’ communities [ 39 , 40 , 45 , 51 , 53 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A framework synthesis

Davy

Harfield

McArthur

et al. 2016

Int J Equity Health

311

217

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundIndigenous peoples often find it difficult to access appropriate mainstream primary health care services. Securing access to primary health care services requires more than just services that are situated within easy reach. Ensuring the accessibility of health care for Indigenous peoples who are often faced with a vast array of additional barriers including experiences of discrimination and racism, can be complex. This framework synthesis aimed to identify issues that hindered Indigenous peoples from accessing primary health care and then explore how, if at all, these were addressed by Indigenous health care services.MethodsTo be included in this framework synthesis papers must have presented findings focused on access to (factors relating to Indigenous peoples, their families and their communities) or accessibility of Indigenous primary health care services. Findings were imported into NVivo and a framework analysis undertaken whereby findings were coded to and then thematically analysed using Levesque and colleague’s accessibility framework.ResultsIssues relating to the cultural and social determinants of health such as unemployment and low levels of education influenced whether Indigenous patients, their families and communities were able to access health care. Indigenous health care services addressed these issues in a number of ways including the provision of transport to and from appointments, a reduction in health care costs for people on low incomes and close consultation with, if not the direct involvement of, community members in identifying and then addressing health care needs.ConclusionsIndigenous health care services appear to be best placed to overcome both the social and cultural determinants of health which hamper Indigenous peoples from accessing health care. Findings of this synthesis also suggest that Levesque and colleague’s accessibility framework should be broadened to include factors related to the health care system such as funding.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0450-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A framework synthesis

Davy

Harfield

McArthur

et al. 2016

Int J Equity Health

311

217

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In Australia, oral health services are available in public, private and Aboriginal health service contexts. Barriers to good oral health and dental care identified by Aboriginal people include services disrespectful of cultural differences and/or with no Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) on staff [ 13 ]; cost, long waiting times, distance to services, especially for those living in remote areas [ 14 ], and limited access to healthy food [ 15 ]. An Aboriginal Health Worker is defined as a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent or who identifies as such and is accepted by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community; has a minimum qualification in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care and delivers care that is holistic and culturally safe [ 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Promoting oral health requires improving oral health literacy and involving Aboriginal people in designing strategies to prevent disease that are relevant and context specific [ 13 ]. A recent study of oral health care in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) in New South Wales found that lifting the burden of oral disease in an Aboriginal community leaves more time to promote oral health [ 14 ]. However, even though dental care was sometimes accessible in ACCHS, the supply of oral health services fell very short of the demand and senior management identified that inadequate and inconsistent resources seriously undermined providing programs to treat disease and promote and sustain oral health care for Aboriginal people [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aboriginal Health Worker perceptions of oral health: a qualitative study in Perth, Western Australia

Durey

McAullay

Gibson

et al. 2016

Int J Equity Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundImproving oral health for Aboriginal Australians has been slow. Despite dental disease being largely preventable, Aboriginal Australians have worse periodontal disease, more decayed teeth and untreated dental caries than other Australians. Reasons for this are complex and risk factors include broader social and historic determinants such as marginalisation and discrimination that impact on Aboriginal people making optimum choices about oral health. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study conducted in the Perth metropolitan area investigating Aboriginal Health Workers’ (AHWs) perceptions of barriers and enablers to oral health for Aboriginal people.MethodsFollowing extensive consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups across 13 sites to investigate AHWs’ perceptions of barriers and enablers to oral health based on professional and personal experience. Responses from 35 AHWs were analysed independently by two researchers to identify themes that they compared, discussed, revised and organised under key themes. These were summarised and interrogated for similarities and differences with evidence in the literature.ResultsKey findings indicated that broader structural and social factors informed oral health choices. Perceptions of barriers included cost of services and healthy diets on limited budgets, attending services for pain not prevention, insufficient education about oral health and preventing disease, public dental services not meeting demand, and blame and discrimination from some health providers. Suggested improvements included oral health education, delivering flexible services respectful of Aboriginal people, oral health services for 0–4 year olds and role modelling of oral health across generations.ConclusionReviewing current models of oral health education and service delivery is needed to reduce oral health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Shifting the discourse from blaming Aboriginal people for their poor oral health to addressing structural factors impacting on optimum oral health choices is important. This includes Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders working together to develop and implement policies and practices that are respectful, well-resourced and improve oral health outcomes.

show abstract

“…Policy making challenges including resource allocation and the governments` actions and interventions are considered as the fourth challenges of provision to oral health services (Table 3). Allocating adequate funding to the oral health needs of Indigenous Australians [27,28] was the strongest sub-theme. Including programs that aimed to reduce early childhood caries, increasing services to remote communities, developing the role of Aboriginal health workers, improving oral health literacy, establishing water uoridation and providing periodontal therapy are some effective interventions that can be compounded by the complex interplay between psychosocial and cultural determinants of both Indigenous Australians and oral health professionals.…”

Section: Geographic Barriers In Accessing Oral Health Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in Oral Health Provision and Utilization in the Australian Indigenous Population: A Scoping Review

Bastani

Sarikhani

Ghanbarzadegan

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Oral health is a vital area of public health. Access to dental services are particularly important among Indigenous populations at a global level. This scoping review aimed to investigate challenges in the provision and utilization of oral health services among Indigenous Australians. The findings may be an important contribution to the literature and facilitate policymakers in reducing inequities in dental service access and utilisation among this vulnerable population. Methods This scoping review was conducted up to June 10, 2020. Five main databases were searched, including PUBMED, SCOPUS, ISI Web of Science, EMBASE and PROQUEST. The main key words were: oral health, dental health, utilization, provision, access, Indigenous, Native, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Arksey and O’Malley`s protocol was applied, which comprises 5 steps of: (1) identifying the research question; (2) identifying relevant studies; (3) study selection; (4) charting the data and collating and; (5) summarising and reporting results. Thematic analysis was used to summarize and analyse the data applying MAX QDA10 software for qualitative data analysis. For a better understanding of the themes and subthemes, a thematic network was presented. Results Results show that there are six main themes and fourteen sub-themes affecting Indigenous Australians` utilization and provision of oral health services. Personal characteristics, Socio-economic status and challenges regarding access were that the main factors influencing utilization of oral health services. The findings suggest that challenges relating to public health, policymaking and service provision can affect Indigenous Australians provision to oral health services. Conclusion Benefits in Indigenous Australian access and utilization of oral health services may improve if policy makers at both national and local levels increase resourcing in this important public health sector. A deeper understanding of the social and cultural nuances driving Indigenous Australians’ reluctance to attend for dental care is crucial.

show abstract

The oral health care experiences of NSW Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

Cited by 20 publications

References 3 publications

Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A framework synthesis

Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A framework synthesis

Aboriginal Health Worker perceptions of oral health: a qualitative study in Perth, Western Australia

Challenges in Oral Health Provision and Utilization in the Australian Indigenous Population: A Scoping Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About