Background and Candidate: Oral health disparities are significant in the United States and despite considerable advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases in the U.S., disparities still persist in segments of the population. Populations most impacted are those with low socioeconomic status (SES), race and ethnic minorities, and rural populations. Differences in SES have a significant impact on oral and overall health status. Traditional SES indicators often used in research are education, income, and occupational status. However, traditional SES indicators employ a fixed standard to all groups and do not take into account variability in the significance and value of life experiences. Perceived social status (PSS), however, measures an individuals' position on the ?social ladder? across multiple dimensions of SES, social class, and stratification. It has been hypothesized that PSS more accurately captures aspects of social status by tapping into psychosocial influences by social context and has been demonstrated to significantly predict several health outcomes in the areas of self-rated health, diabetes, and mental health. However, limited research has been done to explore the influence of PSS on oral health and dental services utilization. Jennifer Sukalski is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. Her primary research focus is on health disparities, access to care, and oral health workforce. Career Goals: Jennifer?s short-term goals are to deepen her knowledge of social and psychosocial factors associated with conceptual models of health care utilization, qualitative and mixed-methods analyses, and expand my knowledge of health disparity research. Her long-term goals are to become a funded independent researcher and a leading clinician and educator in Dental Public Health as a tenure-track faculty at the University of Iowa (UI). Her research plan is innovative in that it utilizes mixed-methods analysis, exploring the role PSS on oral health status and dental services utilization among low-income adults in Iowa. Environment: The UI has an established reputation for the successful training of graduate students in research and clinical areas. It offers learning and development seminars focused on career development and advancement with particular benefits from training opportunities from the UI Public Policy Center. Career Development Plan: Jennifer is committed to attending courses, tutorials, seminars, and relevant conferences as well as meeting regularly with her mentors and research team to fulfill her training aims and gain the knowledge necessary to achieve her future research goal of becoming an independent researcher. Research Study:
This research aims to identify the influence of PSS on oral health status and dental services utilization. This knowledge will have key implications in our understanding of PSS in a low-income population, building on the team?s long-standing health disparity research among low-income adults in the state of Iowa.
This project will investigate the influence of perceived social status on oral health and dental services utilization, an alternative to traditional socioeconomic status (SES) indicators. Previous research demonstrates that low- SES populations face significant health disparities, however, traditional SES indicators only take into account an individual?s life at a single point in time and does not account for variability in the significance of life experiences collectively like perceived social status. Findings from this research will provide improved understanding of how individuals? perceptions about their position in the social hierarchy affect their oral health.
