Oral healthcare management practices in Brazil

Abstract

Universal health coverage is a global target included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda for 2030. Healthcare in Brazil has universal coverage through the Unified Health System (SUS), which guarantees health as basic right to the Brazilian population. Considering the principles of SUS, public oral healthcare management is a huge challenge. Aim: To identify good management practices for quality care adopted by local public oral healthcare managers and teams around Brazil. Methods: This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42017051639). Five databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Lilacs) as well as the reference lists and citations of the included publications were searched according to PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of 30,895 references were initially found, which were evaluated according to the defined eligibility criteria. Twenty qualitative studies, eight surveys and two mixed-model studies were selected. The practices (codes) were organized into three main groups (families), and the Frequency of the Effect Size (FES) of each code was calculated. Among the 20 codes identified, the most relevant ones were: Diagnosis and Health Planning (FES=80%) and Family Health Strategy (FES=66,7). The Intensity of the Effect Size of each study was also calculated to demonstrate the individual contribution of each study to the conclusions. Conclusion: The evidence emerging from this review showed that healthcare diagnosis, planning, and performance based on the family health strategy principles were the most relevant practices adopted by public oral healthcare managers in Brazil. The widespread adoption of these practices could lead to improved oral healthcare provision and management in Brazil.