[Oral health surveillance in Africa: current review of policies and strategies].
BACKGROUND
This article aims to analyze the situation of oral health surveillance in Africa, as certain trends in political and regional strategies and to initiate a reflection on future orientations of African health information systems.


METHODS
A literature review from 1997 to 2008 was performed using PubMed/Medline, The Cochrane Library and Pascal. A search with the same terms and expressions was performed on Internet using the website Google Scholar and WHO. Keywords and headings corresponding to a list of terms and expressions related to the oral health surveillance were "health information systems", "oral health surveillance", "politics", "strategies" and "indicators for Africa".


RESULTS
Fifty-eight articles were analyzed and results concerned insufficiencies and stakes of oral health surveillance systems for the African region. Many political recommendations and strategies contribute to better comprehension of problematic and new orientations for oral health surveillance systems, as new public health issues develop together with new challenges for the African region.


CONCLUSIONS
Many perspectives related to an integrated approach to the prevention of chronic diseases based on risk factors and availability of the STEP-wise approach recommended by the WHO for the use of essential oral health indicators in Africa. These perspectives argue for potential development of a regional information system.
Tchéré
M-L Yavo
ML
Direction du programme national de santé buccodentaire, ministère de la Santé, 22 BP 133, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; ERIC MA(2)D, université Lyon I, bâtiment Nautibus, 43, boulevard du 11-Novembre-1918, 69622 Villeurbanne, France.
Ndiaye
C
C
Bourgeois
D
D
D000349:Africa; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006291:Health Policy; D006295:Health Resources; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D009909:Oral Health; D011057:Politics; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors