The status of oral health research in the World Health Organization (WHO) African region is unclear, yet the need for such information is central to moving an oral health agenda forward. Such an agenda is essential for effectively translating research into actionable practices and supporting regional strategies. The aim of this scoping review was to provide data on the scope and output of oral health research in the WHO African region to be used as a starting point for establishing a research agenda that can affect oral health in the region. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed; EMBASE; Epistemonikos; Scopus; the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research General and Regional Sessions; ProQUEST; PROSPERO; and African regional databases such as Regional African Index Medicus and the African Journal Online. We included primary and secondary studies published in English, French, or Portuguese between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2022, addressing oral health–related research having individuals, groups, or populations as units of analysis. These reports either addressed a topic relevant to the WHO African region assessed using the title and study objective or were conducted in a country in the region. We excluded in vitro and in vivo studies focusing on cells, biomarkers, or animals. We assessed 24,014 records, and 1,379 proved eligible. Our findings indicate a preference for particular research designs less suitable for evidence-informed practice guidelines and oral policies, a limited scope of oral health research topics, and important regional differences in research capacity. Furthermore, publications by researchers in the WHO African region tend to be published in journals with a limited readership. A discussion of our findings among oral health researchers at academic institutions in the WHO African region on how to create within- and across-country collaborations could potentially improve both health and oral health in the region.

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2011 年至 2022 年世卫组织非洲区域口腔健康研究：范围界定审查


世界卫生组织 （WHO） 非洲区域的口腔健康研究状况尚不清楚，但对此类信息的需求对于推进口腔健康议程至关重要。这样的议程对于有效地将研究转化为可操作的实践和支持区域战略至关重要。本范围界定审查的目的是提供有关 WHO 非洲区域口腔健康研究范围和产出的数据，以用作建立可能影响该地区口腔健康的研究议程的起点。我们在 PubMed 中进行了系统检索;EMBASE;Epistemonikos;Scopus;国际牙科、口腔和颅面研究协会一般和区域会议;ProQUEST 的;普洛斯彼罗;以及非洲区域数据库，例如 Regional African Index Medicus 和 African Journal Online。我们纳入了 2011 年 1 月 1 日至 2022 年 12 月 31 日期间以英语、法语或葡萄牙语发表的初级和次级研究，涉及以个人、群体或人群为分析单位的口腔健康相关研究。这些报告要么涉及与 WHO 非洲区域相关的主题，使用标题和研究目标进行评估，要么在该区域的一个国家进行。我们排除了专注于细胞、生物标志物或动物的体外和体内研究。我们评估了 24,014 条记录，其中 1,379 条证明符合条件。我们的研究结果表明，人们偏爱不太适合循证实践指南和口腔政策的特定研究设计，口腔健康研究主题的范围有限，以及研究能力存在重要的地区差异。此外，WHO 非洲区域研究人员的出版物往往发表在读者人数有限的期刊上。 WHO 非洲区域学术机构的口腔健康研究人员就如何建立国内和跨国合作讨论我们的发现，可能会改善该地区的健康和口腔健康。