Barriers against Provision of Oral Healthcare Services to the Elderly: Views of Dentists and Managers of Elderly Care Centers

The proportion of older people is increasing faster than other age groups. Evidence shows that older people receive less oral health services than what they need. The purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers against the provision of oral healthcare services to the elderly from the perspective of dentists and managers of elderly care centers (ECCs) in Tehran.

This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews. The study population included managers of ECCs and dentists who work in the field of geriatric dentistry in Tehran. Participants were selected by purposive and convenience sampling. Interviews were continued until saturation of the information in both groups. The interviews included about 10 predetermined questions regarding different aspects of providing dental care services to the elderly. The Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative approach was used for content analysis of the interviews.

The data reached saturation after conducting interviews with nine managers of the ECCs and seven dentists. Finally, five main themes were extracted by the content analysis including "problems related to accessing care", "problems related to disability", "financial problems", "problems related to dentists" and "problems related to policy-making”.

Several barriers exist related to service recipients, service providers, and policy-makers against the provision of oral healthcare services to the elderly. Removing these barriers requires cooperation between the education, health, and treatmentsectors of the Ministry of Health, the Welfare Organization, and professional dental organizations.