The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43439

Charla J. Lautar, PhD, Health Care Professions, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, M/C 6615, Carbondale, IL 62901, 618-453-7213, cjlautar@siu.edu and Elaine Jurkowski, PhD, School of Social Work, Southern Illinois University, Quigley 4, M/C 4329, Carbondale, IL 62901.

People who are older adults living in rural communities have not been readily been the target audience for oral health assessment and prevention programs. An ideal venue for doing some initial screening and identification/prevention can rest with case managers and social service providers responsible for case management for this target group. Despite this venue, the role in functional assessments has not typically include oral health assessment related items. This paper will discuss the findings from focus groups conducted with case managers within a home health provider agency, identify barriers reaching this goal, and stragies to invite and involve case managers in this process.

Learning Objectives: The objectives of this session include

• To increase awareness of barriers that exist to reaching older adults in rural settings through the case management process using social service agencies.
• To understand what strategies can be used by case managers to identify and assess oral health needs in older adults.
• To be able to articulate three specific steps that can be undertaken to amiliorate this need.

Keywords: Oral Health Needs, Case Management

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.