Patient satisfaction with E-Oral Health care in rural and remote settings: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Background: Individuals living in rural and remote settings face oral health problems and access-to-care barriers due to the shortage of oral health care providers in these areas, geographic remoteness, lack of appropriate infrastructure and lower socio-economic status. E-Oral Health technology could mitigate these barriers by providing the delivery of some aspects of health care and exchange of information across geographic distances. This review will systematically evaluate the literature on patient satisfaction with received E-Oral Health care in rural and remote communities.

Methods: This systematic review will include interventional and observational studies in which E-Oral Health technology is used as an intervention in rural and remote communities of any country worldwide. Conventional oral health care will be used as a comparator when provided. Patient satisfaction with received E-Oral Health care will be considered as a primary outcome for this review. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global Health will be searched using a comprehensive search strategy. Two review authors will independently screen results to identify potentially eligible studies and independently extract the data from the included studies. A third author will resolve any discrepancies between reviewers. Two independent researchers will assess the risk of bias and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation.

Discussion: The potential implications and benefits of E-Oral Health care can inform policymakers and health care professionals to take advantage of this technology to address health care challenges in these areas.

Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42016039942 .

Keywords: E-Health; E-Oral Health; Patient satisfaction; Rural and remote communities; Teledentistry.