Monday 1 June 2009

196. The role of the LBV (Legion of Good Will) in community health (V)

Lack national
Another of the problems summarized in a word: lack. The dental health has been badly in Portugal and although many recognize responsible improvements, "there is still a long process ahead, and not forget Manuel Carvalho sources.
In terms of fieldwork, the country is guided by up local initiatives, which ask to be sporadic and not long-term prospects. "We must coordinate the work done by all to avoid overlapping of activities, beginning with sources suggesting Manuel Carvalho. "Outside, the volunteers are based in institutions where people go for assistance. In Italy, for example, there are two dental organizations, in Spain there is a group that is currently in Africa. In Portugal, everything is scattered, the chairman of the ADL bubble, which allows to reach this error when running on its own initiative and without any national plan perfectly structured, builders, along with their students, a practice 'in the street , to teach people some basic rules of dental health.
Although the initiative 'welcome' stresses, 'no effect in the long term. You can then say that the outlook for oral health in Portugal, is the result of decades without education cadences. "We can only overcome these problems if we have a plan at national level. What the Government implements the field [Program for Promotion of Oral Health in Adolescents] has been important and will give the results, ensures the ex-president, but not enough and even the words of Cassian Scapin, "no visible effect.
While acknowledging the lack of organization in the work of the Community, the President of the Portuguese Society of Stomatology and Dental Medicine (SPEMD) believes that this is also the explanation for the lack of numbers at the national level. "There are more volunteers than we think, but are not registered, we have no way to account. This is also one of the characteristics of volunteering: a lack of personal promotion.
Besides the initiatives known to the public, those responsible believe that "an uncountable number of doctors dentists' are volunteers within their office. "Sometimes what happens is that certain clinical contact a school to help in certain cases or make a campaign. There are also options that cover a region in the prevention work but then again no longer there. Everything ends up being a result of an immediate boost, shoot Manuel Carvalho sources.
The solution, suggests the president of the ADL, it is the Ministry of Health to lead this work because, warns, "we are spending money and we have no results after long-term epidemiological data or concrete. The crux of the problem remains. "There are large projects that need a lot of volunteering and not feel that there is great willingness on the part of individuals' sources of stresses Manuel Carvalho.

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