Health Risks of Problem-Oriented Dental Attenders

描述（由申请人提供）：此K-23赠款提案的目的是开发一个培训和研究计划，使任博士成为多学科临床和行为研究的独立研究者。任博士特别感兴趣的是问题导向的求医行为和健康结果之间的关系，特别是那些有关口腔和心血管健康。他将探讨口腔疾病负担和心血管疾病（CVD）的风险因素在问题导向的牙科医生（POAs）和测试一个简短的干预机制，以促进初级保健的利用和降低健康风险。本项目的具体目标是：1）进一步拓展任博士在流行病学和健康行为研究方面的知识和技能，使其成为跨学科的独立研究者; 2）确定POAs的口腔健康和一般健康状况以及口腔疾病负担与CVD风险之间的相互关系; 3）通过一项试点试验，评估一项简短的社会行为干预计划在促进POAs预防保健利用和降低健康风险方面的有效性。在项目结束时，任博士将成为临床和健康行为研究的独立研究者，并有竞争力地获得研究资金。该提案描述了一个职业发展计划，以提高任博士的跨学科研究技能和研究计划，解决POAs的口腔和整体健康状况之间的相互关系。POAs没有固定的牙科和医疗保健来源，其中许多人不仅有高患病率的牙科疾病，但也有多种危险因素的心血管疾病，包括不受控制的高血压，高脂血症，肥胖和吸烟。这一多学科计划的公共卫生意义在于，它将为在很大程度上依赖急诊服务满足其医疗保健需求的患者群体提供初级保健的接入点。它还将导致在牙科保健和高风险病人的初级医疗保健系统之间建立一个连续的保健。这一牙科/医疗连续体可能使数百万面临衰弱性疾病风险的人受益。这一点尤其重要，因为近40%的普通人口符合POAs的定义，其中许多人可能没有定期的医疗保健来源。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this K-23 grant proposal is to develop a training and research program that will enable Dr. Ren to become an independent investigator in multidisciplinary clinical and behavioral research. Dr. Ren is particularly interested in the relationship between problem-oriented care seeking behavior and health outcomes, especially those pertinent to oral and cardiovascular health. He will explore the oral disease burden and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in problem-oriented dental attenders (POAs) and test a brief intervention mechanism for promoting primary care utilization and health risk reduction. The specific aims of this proposal are: 1) To further expand Dr. Ren's knowledge and skills in epidemiologic and health behavior research in order for him to become an independent investigator bridging multiple disciplines; 2) to determine the oral health and general health status and interrelationship between oral disease burden and CVD risks of POAs; and 3) to assess the effectiveness of a brief socio-behavioral intervention program in promoting preventive care utilization and health risk reduction in POAs through a pilot trial. At the end of the program, Dr. Ren will be an independent investigator in clinical and health behavior research and be competitive for research funding. This proposal describes a career development program that enhances Dr. Ren's skills in interdisciplinary research and a research program that addresses the interrelationship between the oral and overall health status in POAs. POAs have no regular sources of dental and medical care and many of them have not only high prevalence of dental diseases but also multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including uncontrolled high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, obesity and smoking. The public health significance of this multidisciplinary program is that it will lead to the provision of an access point to primary care for a patient population who largely depend on emergency services for their health care needs. It will also lead to the creation of a continuum of care between the dental care and the primary medical care system for high-risk patients. This dental/medical continuum may potentially benefit millions of individuals at risk for debilitating diseases. This is particularly important as nearly 40% of the general population meet the definition of POAs and many of them may not have a regular source of medical care.