11
Volume1 Issue6
|
CDA
at
W
ork
To read the full CAHS report,
visit
InSeptember, the
CanadianAcademyof
HealthSciences(CAHS)
releasedareporttitled
ImprovingAccess toOral
HealthCare forVulnerable
PeopleLiving inCanada.
Thereportprovidesa
comprehensiveanalysis
of inequalities inoral
healthandaccesstodental
care,highlightsmajor
problemscontributing
tothese issues, andoffers
recommendationstohelp
remedythesituation.
CDAtalkedwithDr.Paul
Allison,deanofMcGill
University’s facultyof
dentistryandchairofthe
CAHSassessmentpanel
that issuedthereport, to
discussthescopeofthe
document.
CAHSREPORTURGESACTION
on care for vulnerable Canadians
CDA:
Whydid theCAHScommission this
report?
Dr.PaulAllison:
Itwas commissioned
becauseof the increasingbodyof evidence
showing that thereareproblemsof access
todental care formanyvulnerablegroups.
CDA itself acknowledges in itsoral health
strategy that this is an issue. There’s alsoa
broadconsensus across theCanadiandental
community that thishas tobeaddressed.
The releaseof the2007–09CanadianHealth
Measures Surveywas very timely; the survey
provideduswithqualitydata in termsof
oral healthandaccess todental care,which
weused todocument anddescribe the
problemsof access todental care inCanada.
Fromyourperspective,whatarethemost
importantrecommendations inthereport?
First of all,weneed tomake sureeverybody
understands the issue.Weneed to raise
awarenessnot onlywithin thedental
professionbut alsoamongother relevant
healthcareprofessionals, thepublic, and
decision-makers.
Another keyelement to focuson is the
development of strategies toaddress the
issue. Costweighsheavilywhen it comes
tooral care, but it’snot theonly factor.We
need todeterminewhatwewant toprovide
tovulnerablegroups in termsof care—
preventive, restorativeandother forms—
andcomeupwith systemswecan test out.
Whatdoyouhopewillbethenextsteps?
I hopeverymuch thatpeople take it seriously
andengage in thisdiscussion, and that the
dental profession seizes thisopportunity to
addressproblemsof access. The report is in
linewithCDA’sNationalOral HealthAction
Plan; there is commonground for CDA,
theAssociationof CanadianFacultiesof
Dentistry (ACFD) andmanyother na-
tional and regional dental organizations
towork from.
TheCAHS isnot anorganization that
will itself get involved in thedebate; its
mandate is toproduce reports related to
healthandhealthcare inCanada. It’sup
to thoseof us interested in this issue to
move the recommendations forward. As
amember of thedental profession, I’m
trying topromote thedebate. I’d like to
getCDAandother dental andother health
careprofessional organizations together to
discusshowwecanact upon thefindings
and recommendations.
Access tocare is acomplex issue, and there
isnoonewayof tackling it. That said, I hope
peopleacknowledge there is aproblemand
commit tomoving forward inaconcrete
way. Therearemanywaysof addressing the
inequalities.We shouldn’t let anyperceived
obstacles stopus from starting theclimb.
a
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
R
eporthighlights
Coreproblemswith regards to
access tooralhealthcare
• Vulnerablegroups living inCanadahaveboth
thehighest level of oral healthproblems and
themost difficultyaccessingoral healthcare.
• Thepublicandprivateoral healthcare systems
inCanadaarenot effective inproviding reason-
ableaccess tooral healthcare for all vulnerable
people living inCanada.
Recommendations
1. Communicatewith relevant stakeholders con-
cerning thecoreproblems raised in the report.
2. Establishappropriate standardsof preventive
and restorativeoral healthcare towhichall
people inCanada shouldhave reasonable
access.
3. Identify thehealthcaredelivery systems and the
personnel necessary toprovide these standards
of oral healthcare.
4. Identifyhowprovisionof these standardsof
preventiveand restorativeoral healthcarewill
befinanced.
5. Identify the researchandevaluation systems
thatmonitor theeffectsof putting these recom-
mendations intoplace.
To listen to the full interviewvisit
