Alexandria, VA, USA – A Symposium seeking to address the challenges involved in informed oral health policymaking was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
The recent WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan expresses a clear need for oral health systems improvement. Setting bold goals for oral health systems improvement is crucial, but the best way forward in doing so has yet to be adequately articulated. Improving health systems requires a clear understanding of the existing problems, identifying options to address them, and the implementation and evaluation of new approaches with the active participation of multiple stakeholder groups in each step. Until now, however, progress in oral health systems transformation has been slow.
There is a lack of a collective problem-solving orientation to leverage evidence for decision making together with citizens, patients, policy makers, service providers, and payers. To truly approach evidence-informed oral health policy making, substantial “know-how” and “know-do” gaps still need to be overcome. This symposium described this complex problem and addressed potential solutions via evidence-informed oral health policymaking. It drew on a variety of examples, including the development of WHO Best Buys for oral health, two EU projects with focus on oral care quality improvement and financing systems, as well as practice-based trials on the integration of primary and oral health care. Organized by Stefan Listl, the Symposium, “Evidence-Informed Oral Health Policy Making: Why, What, and How?” took place on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. Central Standard Time (UTC-6).
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of IADR. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.