- Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid
- Virginia Tech Researchers Bring Rural Families into the Nation's Largest Study of Early Brain and Child Development
- Expanding Access to Cancer Care for Rural Veterans
- VA: Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting
- Scaling Rural Wellness with Clever Collaboration
- Stroudwater Associates Enhances Rural Healthcare Dashboard with New Data to Support State Rural Transformation Grant Applications
- Harvest Season Is Here: Busy Times Call for Increased Focus on Safety and Health
- HHS Dispatches More Than 70 Public Health Service Officers to Strengthen Care in Tribal Communities
- Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Team up to Form Network
- CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program
- American Heart Association Provides Blood Pressure Kits at Southeast Arkansas Regional Libraries to Support Rural Health
- Broadening Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery Could Narrow Rural-Urban Health Gaps
- Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
- Help Line Gives Pediatricians Crucial Mental Health Information to Help Kids, Families
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
New Bulletin with Oral Health Resources Published
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) recently published the “Oral Health Resource Bulletin: Volume 47.” The bulletin contains briefs, guidelines, manuals, standards, reports, and videos published in 2020 and 2021. Topics include the COVID-19 pandemic, data and surveillance, policy, professional and education practice, program development, public awareness and education, and systems integration. Resources include a toolkit on community water fluoridation, a user’s guide on teledentistry, and more.
Data Estimates from National Survey of Children’s Health Released
The Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC), a project of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), under a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), announced the release of the combined “2019-2020 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) Child and Family Health Measures.” The combined 2019-2020 NSCH is the fourth multi-year dataset since the redesign of the NSCH in 2016 and includes data from 72,210 children ages 0-17 years. The combined 2019-2020 NSCH downloadable data sets and codebooks with constructed variables displayed in the DRC Interactive Data Query will be available in early 2022.
HIV Discrimination, Privacy and Confidentiality: Impact on the Delivery of Oral Healthcare
The New England AIDS Education and Training Center is hosting a webinar: “HIV Discrimination, Privacy and Confidentiality: Impact on the Delivery of Oral Healthcare” on January 11, 2021 at 11 am ET. Persons with HIV are protected by a variety of state and federal laws against discrimination, especially in places of public accommodation. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act classified this as a national mandate to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities. Speakers will discuss the impact on the delivery of oral healthcare during the webinar.
To register for the webinar: https://www.neaetc.org/events/view/19571?mc_cid=c8f998257c&mc_eid=3de0fb2a18
Dental Public Health Leadership
The American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) is developing a leadership program aimed at rising oral health professionals seeking formal training and support. The goal is to tailor the programming to the needs of the community with an intention to launch in the spring of 2022. In order to design curriculum and frame this experience, they are requesting feedback through a brief survey. Click the following link to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F3M3WJJ
Pennsylvania Medical Assistance Program Dental Fee Schedule Update
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Medical Assistance Programs has a new bulletin: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/docs/Publications/Documents/FORMS%20AND%20PUBS%20OMAP/MAB2021113001.pdf to notify dentists of updates to the Medical Assistance (MA) Program Dental Fee Schedule.
Oral Health and Health Equity Infographic Available
The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation created an infographic highlighting the challenges to achieving optimal oral health. NIHCM identifies opportunities for advancing health equity moving forward. Gum disease remains one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States with 46% of adults over 30 showing symptoms. Although significant improvements have been made to improve oral health in America, many people still experience barriers to preventive or essential dental care. Black Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans, as well as low-income populations, children and pregnant people are at greater risk of oral health diseases. The disparities experienced by these populations have only been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Federal Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act Advanced
The House Health Subcommittee has advanced the bipartisan “Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act,” which would require the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop a five-year oral health literacy campaign targeted to underserved communities. The bill is supported by the American Dental Association and other oral health organizations.
Health Care in Rural America: A Focus on Dental Care
The report, Health Care in Rural America: A Focus on Dental Care, presents findings from a survey of rural adults age 40 and over, conducted from November 20 to December 18, 2020. The report addresses challenges rural populations face in maintaining oral health and consistently accessing oral health providers, difficulties paying dental bills, and delays in seeking care. Data on dental visits by health status, income, insurance coverage, and reasons for delaying or forgoing care are presented.
Additional links: Annotated Questionnaire
Sponsoring organization: AARP
AAP Protect Tiny Teeth Implementation Project Launched
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed the “Protect Tiny Teeth Toolkit” to assist pediatric providers to address oral health during routine, non-urgent pediatric and prenatal visits. The AAP invites pediatric providers to participate in a 7-month quality improvement project to assess pediatric providers’ ability to screen, counsel, and refer children to a dental home using the toolkit and a learning collaborative led by the Project Advisory Committee. Practices will create a plan for implementing Protect Tiny Teeth tools in practice, identify a measurable goal, track, and report outcomes. Participating practices will be compensated $4,000 to defray costs and will be provided with the necessary materials. Applications are due by November 30th.
Nutrition Counseling for Obesity Prevention in Dental Practice
The Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (TUKSoD) in collaboration with the Center for Obesity Research and Education at the College of Public Health developed an online training module, “Nutrition Counseling for Obesity Prevention: Applications in Dentistry.” The modules aim to serve as an evidence-based resource for interested dental schools and dental hygiene programs to increase the knowledge and skills of students on understanding childhood obesity and assessment and counseling tools for dental providers.