K. Round table: Placing European patients and providers at the center of decision-making in oral health policies

Abstract Despite its critical role in overall well-being, oral health (OH) remains insufficiently integrated into many health systems and warrants greater prioritization. Efforts to strengthen OH integration into European health systems are gaining momentum, creating a window of opportunity to involve both the population and healthcare providers in decision-making. Involving them in policymaking offers several benefits, helping to tailor policies to meet real needs and preferences; increases trust and acceptance of changes; By engaging a range of diverse voices in identifying problems, policies can become more responsive to real-world challenges, promoting fairer and more inclusive oral health care. This workshop depicts four approaches of how professionals and the population (potential patients) from nine European countries were involved in OH policymaking in multidisciplinary collaborations: 1. A study used focus group discussions among experts and the general population in England, France, Germany and Hungary to define the foundation of an essential OH benefits basket in the EU. While no individual service or specific population groups were deprioritized, preventive and emergency care were considered most essential, particularly for children and vulnerable populations. In contrast, the need for public coverage of cosmetic services was highly debated. 2. Experiences from the Netherlands showcase that optimizing the (de-)prioritization of (low) high-value oral health care for SHI and VHI benefit packages can involve social participation. 3. A survey among 156 dentists and dental hygienists from Ireland, Hungary, Norway and Estonia assessed how skill-mix is implemented to inform needs-based dental workforce planning. Expanded training and task delegation can improve patient care and service efficiency, yet context matters, and implementation must be tailored to the local needs and stakeholders. 4. Experts, providers, and patients participated equally in a Delphi study to reach consensus on an adequate indicator set to assess the performance of OH systems. Indicators should cover all functions and goals of health systems and be perceived as relevant by both patients and providers. Bringing together innovative people-centered approaches, these studies propose new avenues for engaging stakeholders in health policy-making in financing, coverage, workforce, and performance assessment. The workshop will close with an interactive discussion, trying to inspire other initiatives that wish to engage with the public and providers to make more inclusive policies. Key messages • OH policy-making is evolving, offering opportunities to engage the population and providers in decision-making, potentially improving patient-centered care, trust and acceptance of changes. • Several methods can facilitate patient and provider participation in policy- and decision-making including focus group discussions, surveys, Delphi studies, round tables and interviews. Speakers/Panellists Katharina Achstetter Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany Beatrice Durvy European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Berlin, Germany Ave Põld University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Stefan Listl Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands