Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The 8th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS: Improving Health and Wellbeing (WW8) was held in Bali, Indonesia, September 2019. The location was carefully selected due to Indonesia's rising number of HIV infections, associated with reports of social stigma, discrimination, inadequate testing, and suboptimal treatment within South-East Asia. Greenspan and Challacombe described the history of the World Workshops and their importance of informing the oral health research community, setting the research agenda, and informing the practicing community (Greenspan & Challacombe, 2020). As with previous workshops, one of the specific aims of the 8th World Workshop is to identify current research gaps and propose a research agenda that will hopefully be of assistance to funding agencies, institutions, scientific societies, and individual investigators in the field of oral health and HIV/AIDS research. In addition, the conference summary will define the obstacles that impede progress in specific areas of HIV/AIDS and will prepare a set of specific recommendations and directions for future research. The workshop spanned the breadth from basic science to social science along with an educational component for local clinicians. The critical research questions arising from the workshop are presented below. A panel of experts led a dedicated Workshop discussing the important concept of patient and public involvement (PPI) in HIV/AIDS-related research. The contribution that people with HIV (PWHIV) can make to oral HIV research and its logistical and ethical considerations were highlighted. There was focused discussion on the best approaches to encourage involving PWHIV to engage with oral health research. The Workshop contributors concluded that the concept of PPI is relevant in research in general and should be embraced into the research practices in oral health and HIV. Applying PPI will empower patients, improve the value of research by increasing its relevance, and increase accountability and transparency of oral HIV research (Sharma-Mahendra et al., 2020). Thirty years of World Workshops on oral health and disease in HIV/AIDS have provided clinicians, educators, and researchers with the latest findings in the field that have led to improved patient outcomes. Each workshop is a snapshot in time of our current understanding of HIV/AIDS and its impact on oral tissues, standards of patient care, and importantly suggesting a research agenda that can further improve patient care. In addition to basic and clinical sciences, the workshops have provided important opportunities to highlight broader social issues that directly impact people living with HIV/AIDS, and the response from the dental profession or society at large. Previous workshops have had declarations emphasizing oral health as a basic human right (2004), HIV-positive dental professionals not posing a risk for transmission (2009), and universal oral health care for people with HIV (2014) (Greenspan & Challacombe, 2020). The Bali Declaration from this workshop emphasized the necessity of education both in the public and professional domains to eliminate the stigma of HIV/AIDS. The research agenda presented at the workshop is aimed at improving future patient outcomes and highlighting the role the dental profession can play in testing and referral for treatment. It is hoped that many of these research questions will be addressed and can be discussed at the next World Workshop. The American Association for Dental Research received a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Conference Grant R13DE028504 that facilitated the participation of new oral health investigators from low- and middle-income countries. Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by Grant 1R13DE28504 by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Source: Oral Diseases
DOI: 10.1111/odi.13541
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,600
OpenAlex ID: W3082063544