Karen Lissy, MPH¹, Shervin Churchill, MPH², Bryan Williams, DDS, MEd³, Nanci Villareale, RN, MSN², and Chris Delecki, DDS⁴. (1) Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, PO Box 50020, M/S: S-219, Seattle, WA 98145-5020, 206-987-5246, karen.lissy@seattlechildrens.org, (2) Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Center for Children with Special Needs, POB 50020 MS S219, Seattle, WA 98145-5020, (3) Dept of Dental Medicine, Childrens Hospital and Regional Medical Center, PO Box 50020, M/S: 4E-2, Seattle, WA 98105, (4) Odessa Brown Childrens Clinic, Childrens Hospital and Regional Medical Center, PO Box 50020 / MS: OBCC, Seattle, WA 98145-5020

While oral health initiatives have been implemented in community health clinics and similar public settings, few have targeted private medical practices. Washington State’s Healthy Smiles Project was developed to target private pediatric practices at the organizational level. Findings from provider surveys, in-depth interviews, and clinical reports describing the adoption of oral health (OH) into these practices will be presented to clarify differences in adoption related to practice characteristics and staff attitudes and knowledge. Three private pediatric practices in Washington State participated in the project. Clinical reports of parental OH counseling, children’s oral screening, and application of fluoride varnish were used. Process and qualitative data were collected to identify the degree of each practice’s integration and adoption of OH. All office staff from each practice participated in a survey at three points in time (pre-intervention, immediate post-training, and post-intervention). Staff knowledge of OH issues and parent education messages, attitude toward incorporating OH messages into their routine counseling activities, and confidence in their ability to perform was compared to the level of OH adoption by the practice. These findings, along with qualitative in-depth interviews with 2-3 key staff at each location, will provide further clarification. Insights into differences among practices to integrate OH into their practice will be presented. Facilitators and barriers to integration will be identified and discussed, as well as implications for delivering similar OH initiatives. Applicability to other efforts by the OH and health education communities will also be highlighted.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Explain the association between staff oral health knowledge, attitude towards its integration, and actual adoption in primary care pediatrics.
• 2. Identify 5 organizational facilitators to integrating oral health activities into primary care pediatrics.
• 3. Identify 5 organizational barriers to integrating oral health activities into primary care pediatrics.

Keywords: Oral Health, Health Care Delivery

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.