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Community dental clinics in B ritish C olumbia, C anada: examining the potential as health equity interventions
Author(s) -
Wallace Bruce B.,
MacEntee Michael I.,
Pauly Bernadette
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/hsc.12151
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , equity (law) , medicine , thematic analysis , health equity , health care , family medicine , documentation , community health , nursing , qualitative research , public health , political science , sociology , social science , computer science , law , programming language
Abstract Community dental clinics ( CDC s) have emerged to provide oral healthcare for those with low incomes. In B ritish C olumbia, the establishment of community clinics has been quite rapid in recent years. However, the expansion has occurred with very little assessment of their impact or effectiveness. While oral health inequities are well recognised, there is limited documentation on healthcare interventions to reduce oral health inequities. This study examines CDC s as health equity interventions from the perspectives of individuals establishing and operating the clinics. The study included interviews with 17 participants – 4 dentists, 6 dental hygienists and 7 clinic managers – from 10 clinics operating in B ritish C olumbia, C anada in 2008–2009. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, explored through a health equity framework, found many ways in which the CDC s exemplify health equity interventions. Although their design and mandates are varied, they potentially enable access to dental treatment, but without necessarily ensuring sustainable outcomes. Moreover, the scalability of CDC s is questionable because frequently they are limited to emergency care and are less responsive to the gradients of needs for populations facing multiple barriers to care. Many of them operate on a charitable base with input from volunteer dentists; however, this foundation probably eases the pressure on dentists and dental hygienists rather than offering a safety net to underserved populations.