Building collaborative research infrastructure to reduce oral health disparities

描述(由申请人提供)：这项申请解决了居住在康涅狄格州中部的老年低收入和少数族裔社区成年人在口腔健康方面的显著差异，方法是建立迫切需要的、协作的社区-康涅狄格大学研究基础设施。口腔健康是健康衰老的关键，影响外表、自我价值和生活满意度、沟通和社交、饮食模式和营养状况、保护免受环境侮辱、易受感染和慢性病进展。为了减少这些人群中的口腔健康差距，我们建议解决主要基础设施方面的差距。这些问题包括UCHC牙科学校研究议程中有限的临床和社区老年口腔健康研究，以及康涅狄格大学校园老年研究社区支离破碎；有口腔健康需求的最脆弱老年人社区、老年服务和倡导组织与老年口腔健康研究人员之间的脱节；协调努力组织全州和地方关于口腔健康的数据以及患者、提供者和公众的需求及其投入；初级保健、牙科提供者和社区居民对老年口腔健康缺乏认识；以及医学/牙科学校教育计划中有限的老年口腔健康课程。口腔健康研究战略联盟(OHRSA)将在康涅狄格州建立变革性的学术健康中心/社区伙伴关系，解决这些问题，支持康涅狄格州中部需要的研究开发和翻译实施领域，整合老年人社区的声音，并为更广泛的老年口腔健康翻译研究和传播提供一个模式。OHRSA由来自关键利益攸关方的代表组成，其中包括康涅狄格大学牙科医学院、医学院、社区研究所、北中央机构老年区、康涅狄格州社区卫生中心组织、科布研究所(国家医学会的研究部门)、康涅狄格州公共卫生部和CT。老年部、梅里登卫生部和康涅狄格州中北部的低收入老年人住宅区。申请的目的是：1)建立、扩大和制度化OHRSA，2)支持州和地方正在进行的收集老年口腔健康和服务障碍数据的努力。3)建立、测试、编写和传播课程，以支持低收入和少数族裔老年人关于老年口腔健康的伙伴关系研究，a)各级牙科/医疗教职员工和学生，b)以实践为基础的临床研究人员，c)社区口腔健康倡导组织，d)老年住房和其他社区环境中的低收入老年人。4)制定10年战略研究议程和短期研究发展计划。5)建立可持续的变革性基础设施，以确保这一研究议程的实施。 公共卫生相关性：该项目的目标是开发、实施和维持与社区相连的基础设施，以解决居住在康涅狄格州中北部老年住宅区的低收入老年人的口腔健康差距。最终目标是开发研究项目，以减少老年人之间的健康差距。这一基础设施对公共卫生的影响是巨大的，可以作为区域或国家示范项目的样板，以减少老年人的口腔健康差距，改善老年人的健康状况。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application addresses significant disparities in oral health among older low income and minority community dwelling adults residing in Central Connecticut by building critically needed, collaborative Community - University of Connecticut research infrastructure. Oral health is critical to healthy aging, affecting appearance, self worth and life satisfaction, communication and sociability, eating patterns and nutritional status, protection from environmental insults, susceptibility to infection and chronic disease progression. To reduce oral health disparities in these populations, we propose to address primary infrastructural gaps. These include limited clinical and community based geriatric oral health research in the UCHC dental school research agenda and a fragmented geriatric research community across the University of Connecticut Campuses; a disconnect between communities of the most vulnerable older adults with oral health needs, elderly service and advocacy organizations, and geriatric oral health researchers; limited coordinated effort to organize statewide and local data on oral health and needs of patients, providers and the public with their input; primary health care, dental providers' and community resident lack of awareness of geriatric oral health; and limited geriatric oral health curricula in the medical/dental school educational program. The development of a transformative Academic Health Center/community partnership in Connecticut, the Oral Health Research Strategic Alliance (OHRSA) will address these issues, support needed areas of research development and translational implementation in central Connecticut, integrate older adult community voices, and provide a model for broader geriatric oral health translational research and dissemination. OHRSA consists of representative from critical stakeholders, including the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute for Community Research, North Central Agency Area on Aging, Connecticut Community Health Center organizations, the Cobb Institute (the research arm of the National Medical Association), the Connecticut State Department of Public Health and the Ct. Dept of Aging, Meriden Health Department and low income senior housing complexes in north central Connecticut. Application aims are to: 1) Build, expand and institutionalize OHRSA, 2) Support ongoing state and local efforts to collect data on geriatric oral health and service barriers. 3) Build, test, manualize and disseminate curriculum to support partnership research on geriatric oral health of low income and minority older adults, for a) dental/medical faculty and students at all levels, b) practice based clinical researchers, c) community oral health advocacy organizations and d) low income older adults in senior housing and other community settings. 4) Develop a 10 year strategic research agenda and short term study development plan. 5) Create sustainable transformative infrastructure to ensure implementation of this research agenda. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this project is to develop, implement and sustain community linked infrastructure that will address oral health disparities among low income older adults living in senior housing complexes in North Central Connecticut. The ultimate goal is to develop research projects that will reduce health disparities among older adults. The public health implications are substantial as this infrastructure could serve as a model for a regional or national demonstration project to reduce oral health disparities and improve health among older adults.