Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted The Relationship Between Poor Oral Health and Access to Dental Care Among Asylum seekers and Refugees in Europe A Review Project(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) ALALI, HUSSAIN; Blokland, AlexAbstract Background Asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) experience a high burden of oral disease and face persistent barriers to dental care across European health systems. Evidence is concentrated in a few countries, and access is often restricted to urgent treatment, contributing to substantial unmet need. Aim To synthesise current evidence on oral health status, and on barriers and facilitators to accessing dental care among asylum seekers and refugees in Europe. Methods A structured narrative review of English-language, peer-reviewed studies were conducted. Eighteen studies from single-country and cross-national European settings were included. Data were extracted and thematically synthesised across internal factors, external/logistical constraints, and policy/administrative conditions. Results The majority of evidence came from Germany, Greece, and the United Kingdom. A number of barriers were consistently identified across various settings and ASR populations. These 2 challenges clustered into internal factors included fear, stigma, trauma, low health literacy, and competing priorities. External constraints encompassed transportation difficulties, inflexible booking systems, long waiting times, dispersed accommodation, restrictive entitlements, complex authorisation processes, and fragmented referral pathways. Facilitators aiming to mitigate some of the challenges included various approaches. For example, systematic provision of professional interpreters improved communication, satisfaction, and continuity of care, while cultural competency initiatives fostered more welcoming care environments. System adjustments, such as simplified administration, clearer eligibility guidance, and flexible scheduling, were associated with higher utilisation. Integrated models embedding dental care within broader refugee services achieved greater uptake and continuity than stand-alone clinics. Conclusion Improving ASR dental access requires aligning entitlements with preventive and restorative needs of this population. This should be paired with service redesign, tackling multiple barriers to care. Approaches such as professional interpreter provision and cultural competency training, streamlining administrative pathways and integrated community models of care should be considered. Future research should incorporate longitudinal and pragmatic evaluation and monitoring of interventions aiming to improve the oral health of ASRs. Such interventions may include various outreach programmes. More evidence is also required on interventions aimed at particular sub-groups within ASR populations, such as ASRs with disabilities.16 0