Open AccessEvidence Based Dentistry among Dentists in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review
Author(s) -
Irene Kida Minja,
Edda Tandi Lwoga
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
east african health research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2520-5285
pISSN - 2520-5277
DOI - 10.24248/eahrj.v5i2.662
Subject(s) - scopus , cinahl , grey literature , medline , cochrane library , systematic review , protocol (science) , relevance (law) , web of science , medical education , medicine , originality , scientific literature , alternative medicine , family medicine , psychology , nursing , political science , psychological intervention , pathology , social psychology , paleontology , creativity , law , biology
Purpose of this systematic review was to bring together studies of evidence-based practice among dentists in low- and middle-income countries, where its use has been reported to be limited. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO. Methodology: We searched the evidence (in English only) from medical databases including PubMed, EBSCO, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, HINARI summon, and SCOPUS and Web of Science via Research4Life, grey literature, hand search from relevant articles, and augmented results on Google scholar.Published reports were retrieved from relevant websites and organizations. Studies included those that looked at key factors that facilitate or hinder Evidence Based Dentistry (EBD), as well as outcomes in terms of: knowledge, attitudes and skills of EB practice among dentists; and the methodology used and their relevance in future EBD strategies.Main focus was on dentists, as practitioners and faculty members. Studies on students and non-dental personnel were excluded.Findings:A total of 4568 records were retrieved and five potentially relevant articles were selected after title/abstract screening. Two articles were excluded after full text screening, and therefore Three papers were included in this review. The studies report limited knowledge,unsatisfactory attitude towards EBD and lowpractice of EBD and use of scientific evidence databases. None of the studies reported implementation of EBD nor evaluation thereof. The main barriers that constrained application of EBD ranged from lack of interest to infrastructural limitations. Originality: The current review showed that there is a need to strategised implementation of EBD in this region.