A scoping review of the roles, training, and impact of community health workers in oral health

A scoping review of the roles, training, and impact of community health workers in oral health

To synthesize English or Spanish-language literature on community health workers' (CHWs') roles, training, and impact in oral health. A scoping review conducted in accordance with the Arksey and O'Malley (2005) methodological framework. Electronic literature searches were conducted in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Community dental health Vol. 38; no. 3; p. 198
Main Authors: Garcia, D T, Lawson, J A, Brody, E R, McKernan, S C, Raskin, S E, Arauz, N R, Mosavel, M, Brickhouse, T H
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England 31-08-2021
Subjects:
Child, Preschool
Community Health Workers
Global Health
Health Promotion
Humans
Oral Health
United States
United States
oral health
dental care delivery
Health promotion
community health workers
scoping review
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Summary:To synthesize English or Spanish-language literature on community health workers' (CHWs') roles, training, and impact in oral health. A scoping review conducted in accordance with the Arksey and O'Malley (2005) methodological framework. Electronic literature searches were conducted in Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), DOSS, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Global Health CAB from inception of the databases to April 2020. Three reviewers independently conducted the title and abstract and full-text reviews. This was followed by data charting by three reviewers and data summarizing by two reviewers. Out of the 36 articles that met the inclusion criteria, most took place in the United States (n=15) with most published between 2012 and 2019 (12). CHWs were incorporated in programs that focused on access to dental care (n=10), oral health promotion only (9), early childhood caries (8), oral health promotion and services (5), and oral cancer screening (4). Common roles included providing oral health education and behavior change motivation to community members, facilitating utilization of dental services, and the delivery of diagnostic and dental services to community members. Training and outcomes were not consistently described across studies. CHWs have been used in oral health programs and interventions across a wide range of locations and contexts. The implementation and scaling-up of oral health CHW programs requires appropriate provision of training as well as community embedded monitoring and evaluation structures based on rigorous methods with clearly defined outcomes.
ISSN:0265-539X
DOI:10.1922/CDH_00370Garcia11