A Scoping review of challenges, scope and assessment approaches of teledentistry: an Indian perspective

Joshi, Vibha; Bhardwaj, Pankaj; Joshi, Nitin Kumar; Singh, Kuldeep; Bajaj, Komal; Suthar, Praveen

doi:10.47203/ijch.2021.v33i04.004

Cited by 5 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A recent study in Nepal revealed that although dentists were familiar with the terminology, they had never practiced it before covid pandemic [56]. Similar observations were available in studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and Iran where 75% dentists were not aware of Teledentistry and in India, 98% of dentists were unfamiliar with teledentistry before the pandemic [57][58][59]. They have struggled with the medicolegal issues concerned with Teledentistry practice especially in rural areas [60,61].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Exploring challenges and mitigation strategies towards practicing Teledentistry

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many dentists have opted for Teledentistry as a mechanism for patient consultation, oral lesion evaluation, diagnosis, and monitoring. The current study explores the challenges faced and potential solutions proposed by dentists practicing Teledentistry in a developing country like Pakistan. Methods A qualitative case study was carried out from January to December 2021. A purposive maximum variation sample of 10 dentists was interviewed in two focus groups. The interview guide was developed using the technology–organization–environment framework. The data was transcribed verbatim using otter.ai. The analysis involved immersion in the data and open coding. The conceptually related codes were synthesized into themes and subthemes. Findings The study found various Personnel, Technological and Organizational challenges, and potential solutions from those practicing Teledentistry. The challenges included operational cost, minimal financial returns, lack of awareness, hardware and software support, and other challenges related to the availability of specialization, accessibility, and institutional encouragement. They suggested Institutional Based Practice, staff training, hiring, development of government regulations, and supporting infrastructures such as designated space, central registry, internet, and using/building software to provide 3D images as solutions. Conclusion Teledentists face Personnel, Technological and Organizational challenges and related potential solutions from those practicing Teledentistry in Pakistan. Government should encourage Teledentistry to reduce long-term costs, encourage preventive services and enable rural access to dental care. They should also involve all stakeholders to develop regulations for practicing Teledentistry in Pakistan.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Exploring challenges and mitigation strategies towards practicing Teledentistry

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One review's conclusion about the costs was in contrast with the conclusion stated in the original article and was therefore excluded during the data-selection process [30]. In total, 10 reviews were included in this umbrella review [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and was therefore excluded during the data-selection process [30]. In total, 10 reviews were included in this umbrella review [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Table 1 presents an overall description of the included reviews characteristics and findings.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Effects of Teledentistry on Costs and Oral-Health Outcomes

Scheerman,

Qari,

Varenne

et al. 2024

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Teledentistry offers possibilities for improving efficiency and quality of care and supporting cost-effective healthcare systems. This umbrella review aims to synthesize existing systematic reviews on teledentistry and provide a summary of evidence of its clinical- and cost-effectiveness. A comprehensive search strategy involving various teledentistry-related terms, across seven databases, was conducted. Articles published until 24 April 2023 were considered. Two researchers independently reviewed titles, abstracts and full-text articles. The quality of the included reviews was critically appraised with the AMSTAR-2 checklist. Out of 749 studies identified, 10 were included in this umbrella review. Two reviews focusing on oral-health outcomes revealed that, despite positive findings, there is not yet enough evidence for the long-term clinical effectiveness of teledentistry. Ten reviews reported on economic evaluations or costs, indicating that teledentistry is cost-saving. However, these conclusions were based on assumptions due to insufficient evidence on cost-effectiveness. The main limitation of our umbrella review was the critically low quality of the included reviews according to AMSTAR-2 criteria, with many of these reviews basing their conclusions on low-quality studies. This highlights the need for high-quality experimental studies (e.g., RCTs, factorial designs, stepped-wedge designs, SMARTs and MRTs) to assess teledentistry’s clinical- and cost-effectiveness.

show abstract

“…The diversity of assessment methods sometimes results in a lack of clarity or comparability [ 20 , 30 , 32 , 35 , 36 , 39 ]; furthermore, this scattered landscape also signals the lack of generalizability and standardization in this field of research [ 32 ]. Moreover, assessment and data collection methods vary widely between the different initiatives (eg, self-reported vs objective measures and qualitative vs quantitative assessment) [ 34 , 37 , 39 , 50 , 98 - 100 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relatedly, eHealth interventions are highly contextual, making it crucial to consider the implementation context and use cases, but the varying contexts and use cases make it quite challenging to find a standardized and generalizable way to assess them [ 15 , 17 , 18 , 100 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Quality and Impact of eHealth Tools: Systematic Literature Review and Narrative Synthesis

Jacob¹,

Lindeque²,

Klein³

et al. 2023

JMIR Hum Factors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Technological advancements have opened the path for many technology providers to easily develop and introduce eHealth tools to the public. The use of these tools is increasingly recognized as a critical quality driver in health care; however, choosing a quality tool from the myriad of tools available for a specific health need does not come without challenges. Objective This review aimed to systematically investigate the literature to understand the different approaches and criteria used to assess the quality and impact of eHealth tools by considering sociotechnical factors (from technical, social, and organizational perspectives). Methods A structured search was completed following the participants, intervention, comparators, and outcomes framework. We searched the PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest databases for studies published between January 2012 and January 2022 in English, which yielded 675 results, of which 40 (5.9%) studies met the inclusion criteria. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions were followed to ensure a systematic process. Extracted data were analyzed using NVivo (QSR International), with a thematic analysis and narrative synthesis of emergent themes. Results Similar measures from the different papers, frameworks, and initiatives were aggregated into 36 unique criteria grouped into 13 clusters. Using the sociotechnical approach, we classified the relevant criteria into technical, social, and organizational assessment criteria. Technical assessment criteria were grouped into 5 clusters: technical aspects, functionality, content, data management, and design. Social assessment criteria were grouped into 4 clusters: human centricity, health outcomes, visible popularity metrics, and social aspects. Organizational assessment criteria were grouped into 4 clusters: sustainability and scalability, health care organization, health care context, and developer. Conclusions This review builds on the growing body of research that investigates the criteria used to assess the quality and impact of eHealth tools and highlights the complexity and challenges facing these initiatives. It demonstrates that there is no single framework that is used uniformly to assess the quality and impact of eHealth tools. It also highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach that balances the social, organizational, and technical assessment criteria in a way that reflects the complexity and interdependence of the health care ecosystem and is aligned with the factors affecting users’ adoption to ensure uptake and adherence in the long term.

show abstract

A Scoping review of challenges, scope and assessment approaches of teledentistry: an Indian perspective

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

Exploring challenges and mitigation strategies towards practicing Teledentistry

Exploring challenges and mitigation strategies towards practicing Teledentistry

A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Effects of Teledentistry on Costs and Oral-Health Outcomes

Assessing the Quality and Impact of eHealth Tools: Systematic Literature Review and Narrative Synthesis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About