Dental practitioner rural work movements: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Rural Health
• Dental Public Health

Background:

• Unequal distribution of dental practitioners between urban and rural areas is a global issue in OECD countries.
• Rural dental practitioners are crucial for primary healthcare in underserved communities.
• Workforce shortages negatively impact rural community health and stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate strategies for addressing dental practitioner workforce maldistribution in rural areas.
• To identify factors influencing the recruitment and retention of rural dental practitioners.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review focusing on Australia and international studies.
• Searched databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Informit, Web of Science, Scopus, and Summon.
• Utilized keywords such as 'dental practitioner', 'rural', 'remote', 'retention', 'recruitment', and 'strategies'.

Main Results:

• Identified eight positive factors (e.g., challenging work, social support, rural lifestyle) and 12 negative factors (e.g., isolation, workload, limited opportunities) for rural practice.
• Recruitment strategies were primarily financial or contractual.
• Six of seven long-term retention motivators were personal, with prior rural exposure being most common.

Conclusions:

• Rural dental workforce recruitment and retention are influenced by financial reimbursement and personal reasons.
• Rural medical workforce research significantly impacts assumptions about dental practitioners.
• Current strategies fail to ensure long-term rural dental workforce stability due to low retention rates.