|
|
|
|
|
Piyumika M. Kularatne, MPH, Division of Community Health, Columbia University, 154 Haven Ave., 1st Floor, new York, NY 10032, 212-304-7856, pmk11@columbia.edu, Kavita P. Ahluwalia, DDS, MPH, School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Columbia University, Division of Community Health, 630 West 168 St, New York, NY 10032, and Burton L. Edelstein, DDS, MPH, School of Dental and Oral Surgery-Division of Community Health, Columbia University, 154 Haven, 1st Floor, New York, NY 10032.
Given the oral health disparities and concomitant shortage of primary oral health care providers in underserved areas highlighted in the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health, this project, which used a modified service learning (SL) methodology to train postdoctoral dental providers sought to: 1) train clinically and culturally competent dental workforce to practice in an integrated, multi-disciplinary care setting, 2) link Columbia University’s didactic resources with clinical training at Harlem United Community AIDS Center (HU), a community-based HIV/AIDS adult day care center, and 3) improve access to dental services for an underserved population in Harlem, NYC. A new course for Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) Residents which had complementary didactic and community-based SL components was developed. The didactic component, which emphasized an integrated, patient centered approach, consisted of lectures and workshops designed to provide students with the tools needed to practice effectively within HU’s administrative and clinical structure. Emphasis was placed on provision of care within a multidisciplinary team and cultural competence. SL activities which responded to the needs of the University and HU, included clinical care, multi-disciplinary care planning and reflection. Preliminary data from this project suggest that dentals students are not adequately trained to practice in a multidisciplinary team approach, but training in a community-based setting, with exposure to a diverse population with a variety of health problems, results in improved appreciation of the social, economic and medico-dental issues that have an effect on access to care, care seeking behaviors and oral health outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
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.