Barriers to integrating oral health into diabetes care in Africa: a scoping review

Research Project Description This research project is a scoping review titled “Barriers to Integrating Oral Health into Diabetes Care in Africa.” The study aims to map and synthesize existing evidence on the challenges that hinder the integration of oral health screening and care into the routine management of patients with diabetes across African healthcare settings. The study is informed by anecdotal clinical experience indicating that many healthcare providers managing diabetic patients do not routinely screen for oral diseases, despite the well-established relationship between diabetes mellitus and various oral conditions such as periodontal disease, oral infections, and delayed wound healing. As a result, oral complications in diabetic patients are often detected late, when they may already have progressed to more severe conditions that could have been prevented through early screening and integrated care. The primary purpose of this scoping review is to identify and map the barriers that prevent effective integration of oral health services into diabetes care in Africa. These barriers may include health system limitations, lack of provider training, poor awareness among healthcare workers and patients, limited collaboration between medical and dental professionals, resource constraints, and policy gaps. By systematically reviewing available literature, this study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence on these barriers and highlight gaps in current knowledge. The expected outcome is to generate insights that can inform policy development, clinical practice, and future research, and to propose potential strategies for improving the integration of oral health screening and care into diabetes management. Ultimately, the findings of this review are expected to support efforts toward earlier detection of oral complications, improved patient outcomes, and stronger integration of oral health within broader chronic disease management frameworks in African health systems.