The Australian oral health practitioner workforce: A scoping review.

IF 0.9 4区医学 Q3 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

Community dental health Pub Date : 2025-09-23 DOI:10.1177/0265539X251381204

William Carlson-Jones, Lyndal Pritchard, Loc Do, Jennifer Gray, Nicole Stormon

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: To describe the existing evidence regarding the training, scope of practice (SOP) and distribution of oral health practitioners (OHPs) in Australia.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted using a reflexive thematic analysis to capture the education and training, workforce characteristics and SOP of Australian OHPs. The literature on the OHP workforce published in peer-reviewed journals as well as in grey literature was included in the scoping review from a range of databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, ABI/INFORM, Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO), Informit, Libraries Australia. Included papers were those published in English only that detailed descriptors of clinical skill sets; practitioner education and training; and practitioner characteristics such as gender, age, practice location, workplace type (e.g., public, private, academia), full-time equivalency, remuneration, and workforce retention. Excluded were studies not published in English, focusing on practitioners outside Australia, non-key outcomes, and publications prior to 1^st July 2010 or after 30^th June 2024.

Results: The training of OHPs in Australia has changed for each of the divisions moving from 2-year diplomas to 3-year bachelors degrees. The OHP workforce was found to possess a range of variation in age, gender, and principal practice settings across the divisions. SOP was not consistently described or measured in the literature for OHPs.

Conclusions: The training pathways and SOP for OHPs in Australia have evolved over time, reflecting changes in educational standards and workforce needs. Geographic and regulatory factors were identified to influence SOP for OHPs. However, there is a lack of consistent measurement and description of SOP in the literature, highlighting the need for further research. Future studies should focus on the service provision and employment characteristics of DHs, DTs, and OHTs to identify potential gaps in care.

查看原文本刊更多论文

澳大利亚口腔卫生从业人员队伍：范围审查。

目的：描述澳大利亚口腔卫生从业人员（ohp）培训、执业范围（SOP）和分布的现有证据。方法：采用反思性专题分析进行范围审查，以捕捉澳大利亚ohp的教育和培训，劳动力特征和SOP。在同行评议期刊上发表的关于OHP劳动力的文献以及灰色文献被纳入范围审查，这些文献来自一系列数据库，包括PubMed、CINAHL、Embase、Web of Science、ABI/INFORM、分析与政策观察站（APO）、Informit、澳大利亚图书馆。纳入的论文是那些只用英文发表的、详细描述临床技能的论文；从业人员教育培训；以及从业人员特征，如性别、年龄、执业地点、工作场所类型（例如，公共、私人、学术界）、全职等值、薪酬和劳动力保留。排除了非英文发表的研究，重点是澳大利亚以外的从业者，非关键结果，以及2010年7月1日之前或2024年6月30日之后的出版物。结果：澳大利亚每个部门的ohp培训都发生了变化，从2年的文凭到3年的学士学位。OHP工作人员被发现在年龄、性别和各部门的主要实践环境方面存在一系列差异。SOP在文献中没有一致地描述或测量ohp。结论：澳大利亚ohp的培训途径和SOP随着时间的推移而发展，反映了教育标准和劳动力需求的变化。确定了影响ohp SOP的地理和法规因素。然而，文献中对SOP的测量和描述缺乏一致性，需要进一步研究。未来的研究应关注保健医生、日间医生和门诊医生的服务提供和就业特征，以确定护理方面的潜在差距。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Community dental health 医学-牙科与口腔外科

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

11.80%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： The journal is concerned with dental public health and related subjects. Dental public health is the science and the art of preventing oral disease, promoting oral health, and improving the quality of life through the organised efforts of society. The discipline covers a wide range and includes such topics as: -oral epidemiology- oral health services research- preventive dentistry - especially in relation to communities- oral health education and promotion- clinical research - with particular emphasis on the care of special groups- behavioural sciences related to dentistry- decision theory- quality of life- risk analysis- ethics and oral health economics- quality assessment. The journal publishes scientific articles on the relevant fields, review articles, discussion papers, news items, and editorials. It is of interest to dentists working in dental public health and to other professionals concerned with disease prevention, health service planning, and health promotion throughout the world. In the case of epidemiology of oral diseases the Journal prioritises national studies unless local studies have major methodological innovations or information of particular interest.