IADR Abstract Archives
Global Comparison of Oral Disease Burden to Health Provider Ratios
Objectives: Health professional workforce planning is usually based on traditional assessments of patients per provider ratios. However, patients’ needs are increasingly complex and vary widely, often placing more demand on providers per patient and leading to drastic global disparities. We propose a new and more relevant approach for addressing the burden of oral diseases and oral health workforce shortages, achieved by relating burden of disease data to available workforce numbers. We analyze the mismatch between the burden of the most common and preventable oral diseases and the persisting global shortages of oral health professionals by using a new metric – the “Burden-Provider Ratio” (BPR).
Methods: BPR was calculated by dividing the sum of all disability-adjusted-life-years (DALYs) lost to periodontal disease and dental caries by the number of oral health care providers designated to provide treatment. Global Burden of Disease Study data and World Health Organization workforce data were used. BPR calculations for each nation were plotted against that nation’s annual GDP.
Results: As the GDP of countries increases, the BPR decreases, with a correlation of approximately 81% (r=-0.81, p-value <0.05). Total global BPR is 5.3 and the average BPR across countries is 90, demonstrating that highest values are heavily skewed toward low income countries characterized by a combination of a high disease burden and a low provider availability. The United States exhibits the lowest BPR of 0.49 and Ethiopia the highest BPR of 1418.9.
Conclusions: Global trends and transitions are changing disease and demographic patterns. The world is also facing serious health workforce shortages, which reduces the ability of health systems to respond to new challenges and leaves large population groups without access to essential oral health care services. The BPR provides quantifications and visualizations of disparities and inequalities that are otherwise obscured, offering a new and unique additional assessment tool for health policy planners and health workforce development.
Methods: BPR was calculated by dividing the sum of all disability-adjusted-life-years (DALYs) lost to periodontal disease and dental caries by the number of oral health care providers designated to provide treatment. Global Burden of Disease Study data and World Health Organization workforce data were used. BPR calculations for each nation were plotted against that nation’s annual GDP.
Results: As the GDP of countries increases, the BPR decreases, with a correlation of approximately 81% (r=-0.81, p-value <0.05). Total global BPR is 5.3 and the average BPR across countries is 90, demonstrating that highest values are heavily skewed toward low income countries characterized by a combination of a high disease burden and a low provider availability. The United States exhibits the lowest BPR of 0.49 and Ethiopia the highest BPR of 1418.9.
Conclusions: Global trends and transitions are changing disease and demographic patterns. The world is also facing serious health workforce shortages, which reduces the ability of health systems to respond to new challenges and leaves large population groups without access to essential oral health care services. The BPR provides quantifications and visualizations of disparities and inequalities that are otherwise obscured, offering a new and unique additional assessment tool for health policy planners and health workforce development.