Oral Health as a Component of Healthy Ageing: A Scoping Review of Australian health Policy frameworks.
Manori Dhanapriyanka

Date and Time

Thursday, November 12, 2026, 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM

Theme / Track

Policy, advocacy, planning and change

Presentation Format

Concurrent

Background: Oral health is a key determinant of healthy ageing yet remains poorly integrated within broader health systems and receives limited policy attention. This scoping review explores how oral and general health integration is addressed across Australian health policy frameworks for older adults. Methods: Following Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) recommendations, an electronic search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Advanced was conducted to identify peer-reviewed and grey literature. were guided by the Population, Concept, Context framework: older adults, oral & general health integration, and Australian health policy frameworks published within the last 10 years. Three independent reviewers conducted the screening in Covidence. Results: Of 2,396 records screened, 10 oral health and 13 general health policy frameworks were included. General health policies incorporating oral health spanned diverse areas, including mental health, disability, rehabilitation, health promotion, and public health. However, 46% referenced oral health only in policy context, 31% incorporated it into strategies and 15% included measurable indicators. In contrast, 80% of oral health policies integrated oral and general health at the strategic level, though only 30% specified indicators. Deductive thematic analysis identified key domains: governance, health promotion, service delivery, and workforce development. Integration strategies included oral health partnerships, a common risk factor approach, holistic care models, and interprofessional training. Conclusion: Oral health policies demonstrate stronger integration of oral and general health within strategic frameworks, whereas general health policies show limited and largely superficial integration. This imbalance highlights persistent system-level fragmentation, with oral health insufficiently embedded in health system planning and implementation for older adults.

Keywords

Evidence Based Policy, Evidence Based Practice, Integrated Care, Wellness / Well Being

Authors

Dr U M G Sanketha Francis, University of Queensland
Lyndal Pritchard, University of Queensland
Dr Helena Schuch, University of Queensland
Dr Diep Ha, University of Queensland
Dr Peivand Bastani, Flinders University
Professor Loc Do, University of Queensland