A questionnaire on HIV/AIDS for the dental chief officers of the American countries

Our aim was to obtain accurate information from the health facilities providing dental care for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the American countries. For this purpose, the Oral Health Division at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO, which is the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization) created an on-line questionnaire to be completed by the Dental Chief Officers of each country. The questionnaire consisted in 8 questions that could be submitted on-line, mail or fax. Notification along with instructions was sent to each country within the Americas. In spite of the increasing rate of PLWHA in the region, only 31.6% of the countries completed and returned the questionnaire on time. To assess the accuracy of the responses regarding the number of PLWHA in each country, the researchers compared the answers with the UNAIDS estimations. 25% reported a reliable national number of PLWHA. 68% of the respondents have national policies and strategies to provide dental care for PLWHA. 58% of the countries have specific manuals and protocols. The strongest research topics for the past 5 years were: infection control practices, prevalence of oral lesions in PLWHA, discrimination of PLWHA in the dental office, and dental care coverage for PLWHA. Regarding the needs of information among dental professionals working with PLWHA, the answers highlighted: infection control practices, HIV advances, spaces for ideas exchange, on-line forums, funding sources. Based on this experience we conclude that the communication within the countries and even between PAHO and the countries of the region is challenging due language barrier, lack of data and/or invalid contact information of the responsible personnel at the national programs, who sometimes do not show any will for cooperation. Our perception is that in the package of care for HIV/AIDS, the dental collaboration is still a missing piece.