Building collaborative research infrastructure to reduce oral health disparities

Reisine, Susan; Schensul, Jean

Abstract

This application addresses significant disparities in oral health among older low income and minority community dwelling adults residing in Central Connecticut by building critically needed, collaborative Community - University of Connecticut research infrastructure. Oral health is critical to healthy aging, affecting appearance, self worth and life satisfaction, communication and sociability, eating patterns and nutritional status, protection from environmental insults, susceptibility to infection and chronic disease progression. To reduce oral health disparities in these populations, we propose to address primary infrastructural gaps. These include limited clinical and community based geriatric oral health research in the UCHC dental school research agenda and a fragmented geriatric research community across the University of Connecticut Campuses;a disconnect between communities of the most vulnerable older adults with oral health needs, elderly service and advocacy organizations, and geriatric oral health researchers;limited coordinated effort to organize statewide and local data on oral health and needs of patients, providers and the public with their input;primary health care, dental providers'and community resident lack of awareness of geriatric oral health;and limited geriatric oral health curricula in the medical/dental school educational program. The development of a transformative Academic Health Center/community partnership in Connecticut, the Oral Health Research Strategic Alliance (OHRSA) will address these issues, support needed areas of research development and translational implementation in central Connecticut, integrate older adult community voices, and provide a model for broader geriatric oral health translational research and dissemination. OHRSA consists of representative from critical stakeholders, including the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute for Community Research, North Central Agency Area on Aging, Connecticut Community Health Center organizations, the Cobb Institute (the research arm of the National Medical Association), the Connecticut State Department of Public Health and the Ct. Dept of Aging, Meriden Health Department and low income senior housing complexes in north central Connecticut. Application aims are to: 1) Build, expand and institutionalize OHRSA, 2) Support ongoing state and local efforts to collect data on geriatric oral health and service barriers. 3) Build, test, manualize and disseminate curriculum to support partnership research on geriatric oral health of low income and minority older adults, for a) dental/medical faculty and students at all levels, b) practice based clinical researchers, c) community oral health advocacy organizations and d) low income older adults in senior housing and other community settings. 4) Develop a 10 year strategic research agenda and short term study development plan. 5) Create sustainable transformative infrastructure to ensure implementation of this research agenda.

Public Health Relevance

The goal of this project is to develop, implement and sustain community linked infrastructure that will address oral health disparities among low income older adults living in senior housing complexes in North Central Connecticut. The ultimate goal is to develop research projects that will reduce health disparities among older adults. The public health implications are substantial as this infrastructure could serve as a model for a regional or national demonstration project to reduce oral health disparities and improve health among older adults.