2013
- Oral Health Literacy—Workshop Summary released
Background
This report summarizes the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Health Literacy workshop held on March 29, 2012, in Washington, DC. The purpose of the workshop was to explore findings from oral health literacy research and how these findings are being translated into oral health practice, as well as the intersection between oral health literacy and health literacy. The report includes information on the importance of health literacy, the role of health literacy in addressing oral health problems, how oral health literacy can be assessed within health care systems and within the environment, the experiences of several oral health literacy programs, three state-based initiatives, and an overview of national oral health literacy activities.
Impact
This report should serve to increase awareness of the importance of oral health literacy.
Source
Hewitt M. 2013. Oral Health Literacy—Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
- Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement Initiative established
Background
To reduce the prevalence of oral disease in pregnant women and infants at high risk for oral disease through improved access to and utilization of high-quality oral health care, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau funded the Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement (PIOHQI) initiative from 2013 through 2019.
The initiative funded 16 projects. Three pilot projects—Connecticut, New York, and West Virginia—were funded through 2018, and 13 expansion projects—Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin—were funded through 2019.
The PIOHQI projects worked toward:
- Increasing pregnant women’s utilization of preventive oral health care.
- Increasing the percentage of children who have dental homes by age 1.
- Reducing the prevalence of oral disease in pregnant women and infants, ultimately reducing dental caries throughout early childhood.
- Reducing oral health care expenditures.
Impact
Selected project activities include:
- Tested promising practices to integrate prenatal oral health screening, education, and referral to oral health professionals into health-care-delivery systems that serve populations at high risk for oral disease. (Colorado)
- Developed educational materials for pregnant women and parents with infants and for community partners, including obstetricians, pediatricians, and community agency staff. (Connecticut)
- Worked with a consortium of health centers to increase the dental visit rate for infants using a multipronged approach, including oral health education for the medical team, building a coordinated scheduling system between the medical and dental electronic health record systems, creating standard protocols to identify infants eligible for dental visits, and providing incentives to medical assistants for increasing the number of dental appointments for infants. (California)
- Worked on a statewide pilot to integrate oral health screenings, assessments, and referrals into prenatal medical visits. (Maine)
- Worked with two community health centers to test and track ways to increase referrals for pregnant women between medical practices and oral health practices. (Rhode Island)
- Delivered oral health training to oral health professionals and medical professionals at three community health centers (CHCs). Each CHC participated in workflow-mapping sessions and received data-collection technical assistance and training to develop a referral process between oral health professionals and medical professionals. (Massachusetts)
- Used workforce innovations, such as collaborative practice dental hygienists, advanced dental therapists, and teledentistry, to expand access for pregnant women and infants to oral health services, particularly in WIC clinics and early childhood programs located in rural and remote areas. (Minnesota)
- Collaborated with home visiting programs in Texas to educate home visitors about prenatal and early childhood oral health to help them educate and empower those they serve. (Texas)
- Developed a training for home visitors, family support workers, family educators, community health workers, and community health nurses to enhance collaboration among local health and social services programs and improve access to oral health care for pregnant women and infants. (Virginia)
- Partnered with community systems directors in four public health regions to expand the state’s regional oral health networks. (South Carolina)
- Developed a course, Healthy Smiles for Mom and Baby Oral Health Training for Professionals, for health professionals in Wisconsin working with pregnant women, infants, and toddlers. (Wisconsin)
PIOHQI projects were able to accelerate progress on achieving their goals by learning from other PIOHQI projects within the supportive structure of the PIOHQI learning collaborative, which was part of the initiative. The learning collaborative was coordinated initially by the National Learning Network consortium, led by the Children’s Dental Health Project and partners from 2014 to 2017, then by the Center for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement consortium, led by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors with assistance from FrameShift Group from 2017 to 2019.
Sources
Lorenzo S, Goodman H, Stemmler P, Holt K, Barzel R, eds. 2019. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau–Funded Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement (PIOHQI) Initiative 2013–2019: Final Report. Washington, DC: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau. 2013. Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement (PIOHQI) Pilot Grant Program [funding opportunity announcement]. Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau. 2014. Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement National Learning Network [funding opportunity announcement]. Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau. 2015. Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement Expansion Grant Program [funding opportunity announcement]. Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center. 2017. Promoting Oral Health During Pregnancy: Update on Activities— May 2017. Washington, DC: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center.
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