Assessing Oral Healthcare Accessibility in Elderly through Geographic Information Systems: A Scoping Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/cos.v12i2.4374Keywords:
accessibility, elderly, GIS, oral healthcare, spatial analysisAbstract
Objectives: Disparities persist, especially for the elderly, in accessing oral healthcare. GIS was widely used in spatial aspects to examine access to oral healthcare services and highlight multiple factors that might influence access to healthcare facilities. This study aims to conduct a scoping review of the available literature on the accessibility of oral healthcare (OHC) for the elderly population across countries using GIS. Materials and Methods: Electronic search was performed in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences (WOS), and Science Direct. There are no restrictions on the types of studies included that use GIS or a comparative geospatial mapping program in studying the accessibility of oral healthcare for the elderly population across countries. The population included the elderly aged 60 years and above. All English publications were accepted except abstract-only papers as proceeding papers, conference, editorial, and author response theses and books. Articles without full text available and duplicate studies were excluded. Results: Nine studies were included in the final review. All studies are from high-income countries: Australia, the United States, Japan and Great Britain. The spatial analysis techniques utilised here include proximity, overlay, Kernel Density, statistical, and network analysis. Conclusions: Overall, elderly access to OHC appears sparse in rural regions, and the density of OHC is higher in urban areas. GIS is a powerful tool that aids healthcare planners, policymakers, and researchers in assessing and improving accessibility to oral healthcare and other essential services.
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