Oral Health Information Systems-Towards Measuring Progress in Oral Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Petersen, Poul Erik, Bourgeois, Denis, Bratthall, Douglas, Ogawa, Hiroshi, Bulletin of the World Health Organization

Introduction

WHO has a long tradition of epidemiological survey methodology and surveillance in oral health. The so-called WHO Global Oral Health Data Bank was established in 1967; the bank emerged from the gathering of information from surveys on the growing burden of dental caries among children, particularly notable in industrialized countries. Most of the surveys carried out in these countries were initially motivated by the need for planning of oral health services or organization of public health intervention programmes. Over the past decades, WHO has encouraged Member States to report information on disease level for making international comparisons, by use of a standardized methodology (1-4). For comparison between countries, certain indicator age groups are suggested: 5-6 years, 12 years, 15 years, 35-44 years and 65 years or more (or 65-74 years), and a simplified pathfinder sampling methodology (convenience sampling) has been developed for urgent data collection in countries or settings where probability sampling is not possible. To ensure data of high validity and reliability, WHO has designed basic instruments and record forms for use in the collection of clinical data. Standard criteria for recording clinical conditions are recommended, focusing on dentition status, prosthetic status and needs, dental caries and dental treatment needs, developmental anomalies of teeth, periodontal disease and treatment needs, oral mucosal lesions and oral precancer/cancer. Special attempts have been made to obtain high quality data through specification of clearly defined examination procedures, training, and calibration trials for assessment of intra- or inter-examiner variability (5).

Tools for oral epidemiology have been instrumental in the establishment of oral health information systems worldwide. The objectives of the present report are to outline experiences of use of such systems at the global, regional and national levels, and to describe the efforts made in developing expanded systems for the surveillance of oral disease and risk factors within the new WHO STEPwise approach for measuring progress in prevention of chronic disease and promotion of health.

Oral health information systems at the global and regional levels

Data on oral health status for monitoring disease patterns and trends over time represent an essential component of oral health information systems (Fig. 1). In addition to epidemiological information, decision-makers and health planners need information about risk factors to oral health, oral health-related quality of life, service coverage and utilization of oral health services, intervention and care, administrative procedures, and quality of care and services.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

An important public health rationale of the WHO Global Oral Health Data Bank has been to provide for epidemiological analysis of changing oral health status, to highlight how such changes might be related to new risk profiles in countries or regions, and to assess the impact of development or adjustment of oral health systems. In parallel to the continuous update of the Global Data Bank, similar databanks have been developed for the WHO Regional Offices (6, 7) based on common procedures for data collection. Time-series analyses conducted on the basis of the global and regional data available show improved oral health status in children in several industrialized countries, as measured by a decline in the average number of teeth affected by dental caries at the age of 12 years (8). This trend is partly a reflection of the introduction of preventive oral care programmes in these countries. In contrast, information is available on the increasing prevalence of dental caries in developing countries over recent years, due to the increasing consumption of sugars and lack of preventive programmes.

In 1996, WHO established an Internet online oral health database, supported by the WHO Collaborating Centre in oral health at Malmo University, Sweden, and the University of Niigata, Japan. The so-called WHO Oral Health Country/Area Profile Programme (CAPP) (9) aims at presenting information on oral diseases in individual countries, including data on oral health services, programmes, dental education and human resources. Data are obtained from the scientific literature, WHO, and ministry of health reports. The database is designed for easy use and information is targeted to oral health professionals, policy-makers, health planners, universities and the general public. The user can select a country and in addition to country data on oral health, the CAPP provides a databank of ideas and experiences in relation to oral health programmes as well as facilitating access to other important databases (e.g. PubMed and WHO technical programmes).

The WHO European Health for All Target 31 aimed at the improvement of quality of health care by use of appropriate health care technology and the provision of health information systems (10). In the 1990s the WHO Regional Office for Europe developed initiatives to encourage Member States to harmonize their information systems in oral health. Many east-European countries traditionally recorded the number and type of services provided (e.g. the number of teeth extracted and number of dental fillings) but not the outcomes, i.e. whether interventions contributed to health or not. Some western European countries have established outcome-oriented information systems, but neglected the processes. The so-called WHO European ORATEL project (Use of Telematics in Oral Health) (11) sought to stimulate the …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Oral Health Information Systems-Towards Measuring Progress in Oral Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Contributors: Petersen, Poul Erik - Author, Bourgeois, Denis - Author, Bratthall, Douglas - Author, Ogawa, Hiroshi - Author. Journal title: Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Volume: 83. Issue: 9 Publication date: September 2005. Page number: 686+. © 1990 World Health Organization. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.