Strategies to improve access to and uptake of dental care by people experiencing homelessness in Australia: a grey literature review.

ConclusionsTo improve access to and uptake of dental care by people experiencing homelessness, dental services need to be free and organised in collaboration with support organisations.What is known about the topic?The peer-reviewed literature describing strategies used to improve access to and uptake of dental care by people experiencing homelessness in Australia is limited. The authors could only locate two such studies, one based in Melbourne and one in Brisbane. Both programs had a similar aim, but used different strategies to achieve it, suggesting a lack of consensus about the best way to encourage dental visiting by people experiencing homelessness.What does this paper add?This paper used the grey literature to describe common strategies used in Australia to improve access to and uptake of dental care by people experiencing homelessness.What are the implications for practitioners?Dental service providers aiming to increase access to and uptake of dental care by people experiencing homelessness need to work collaboratively with support organisations and provide care free of charge.
PMID: 31262395 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Australian Health Review - July 1, 2019 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Goode J, Hoang H, Crocombe L Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research