Building collaborative research infrastructure to reduce oral health disparities

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请通过建立急需的康涅狄格大学社区合作研究基础设施，解决居住在康涅狄格中部的低收入老年人和少数民族社区居住成年人口腔健康的显著差异。口腔健康对健康老龄化至关重要，影响到外表、自我价值和生活满意度、沟通和社交、饮食模式和营养状况、免受环境损害、对感染的易感性和慢性疾病的进展。为了减少这些人群的口腔健康差距，我们建议解决初级基础设施差距。这些包括在UCHC牙科学院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中分散的老年研究社区；有口腔健康需求的最脆弱老年人社区、老年人服务和倡导组织以及老年口腔健康研究人员之间的脱节；组织全州和地方口腔健康数据以及患者、提供者和公众需求的协调努力有限；初级卫生保健、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一个变革性的学术健康中心/社区合作伙伴关系，解决这些问题，支持康涅狄格州中部所需的研究发展和转化实施领域，整合老年人社区的声音，并为更广泛的老年口腔健康转化研究和传播提供一个模型。OHRSA由来自关键利益相关者的代表组成，包括康涅狄格大学牙科医学院、医学院、社区研究所、老龄化问题北中央机构区、康涅狄格社区卫生中心组织、科布研究所（国家医学协会的研究机构）、康涅狄格州立公共卫生部和Ct。老年部，艾美登医疗部门和康涅狄格州中北部的低收入老年人住宅区。应用程序的目标是：1)建立、扩大OHRSA并使其制度化；2)支持州和地方正在进行的收集老年人口腔健康和服务障碍数据的工作。3)建立、测试、编制和传播课程，以支持低收入和少数族裔老年人老年口腔健康的合作研究，对象包括：a)各级牙科/医学教师和学生；b)基于实践的临床研究人员；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)创建可持续的变革性基础设施，以确保本研究议程的实施。

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.