Facilitators for increasing dental attendance of people from vulnerable groups: a rapid review of evidence relevant to the UK

Tom A Dyer; Anne-Marie Glenny; Laura MacDonald; Sally Weston-Price; Zoe Marshman; Anna Ireland; Kate Jones

doi:10.1038/s41415-023-6607-x

Facilitators for increasing dental attendance of people from vulnerable groups: a rapid review of evidence relevant to the UK

Br Dent J. 2023 Dec 13. doi: 10.1038/s41415-023-6607-x. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Tom A Dyer¹, Anne-Marie Glenny², Laura MacDonald³, Sally Weston-Price⁴, Zoe Marshman⁵, Anna Ireland⁶, Kate Jones⁷

Affiliations

¹ Senior Clinical Teacher in Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, UK. t.dyer@sheffield.ac.uk.
² Professor of Health Sciences Research, Division of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, UK.
³ Managing Editor, Cochrane Oral Health, Division of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, UK.
⁴ Consultant in Dental Public Health, NHS England, East of England, UK.
⁵ Professor of Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, UK.
⁶ Former Dental Public Health Lead, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, London, UK.
⁷ Consultant in Dental Public Health, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, London, UK.

PMID: 38093028
DOI: 10.1038/s41415-023-6607-x

Abstract

Objective To rapidly review facilitators of access for vulnerable groups and to evaluate their effectiveness.Methods Data sources: MEDLINE via Ovid. Publications in English from 2000.

Data selection: Research involving 'vulnerable groups' relevant to UK health systems, with a primary outcome of increasing attendance.

Data extraction: One author extracted and tabulated data. These were audited by a second author.

Data synthesis: A narrative synthesis was produced.Results Data from 31 studies were available for ten vulnerable groups: people with learning, physical or sensory disabilities (n = 8); people experiencing homelessness (n = 6); prisoners (n = 4); asylum-seekers and refugees (n = 3); people living in socioeconomically deprived areas (n = 3); people with severe mental health conditions (n = 2); vulnerable children (n = 2); dependent older people (n = 1); Gypsy, Roma or Traveller groups (n = 1); and people with drug dependency (n = 1). Many facilitators involved organisational reform and more integration of health, social and other services. Other facilitators included: modification of premises; team development and skill-mix use; and awareness of needs and flexible services to meet them. Few studies evaluated effectiveness.Conclusion Although facilitators for access for vulnerable groups have been proposed, there is little evidence to support or refute their effectiveness. Efforts are needed to promote access for vulnerable groups in the UK with evaluation plans embedded.