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Consortium for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement

Networks for Oral Health Integration Within the Maternal and Child Health Safety Net

 

Table of Contents


COHSII-NOHI Overview

Übersicht

The purpose of the Networks for Oral Health Integration (NOHI) Within the MCH Safety Net is to improve access to and utilization of comprehensive, high-quality oral health care for pregnant women, infants, and children at high risk for oral disease. Three projects were awarded funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau for a 5-year period (2019–2024) to develop, implement, and evaluate models of care using three collective strategies:

  1. Enhanced integration of oral health care within maternal and child health safety net services (e.g., community health centers [CHCs]).
  2. Increased knowledge and skills among health professionals (including oral health, non-oral-health clinical, and non-oral-health support service professionals) for delivering optimal oral health care.
  3. Enhanced knowledge and awareness of preventive oral health practices among parents and other caregivers to increase adoption of these practices, including use of oral health care.

Projects

Each NOHI project team comprises the award recipient, the partners, and the primary care associations and selected CHCs in four states (see map below). Two projects are focusing on pregnant women and infants and children from birth to age 40 months, and one project is focusing on children ages 6–11. Learn more in Networks for Oral Health Integration: Overview and Project Profiles 2020, Update 2021, Update 2022, Update 2023, and NOHI Projects: At-A-Glance.

COHSII-NOHI Overview

NOHI Projects: At-A-Glance


NOHI projects map

Learning Collaborative

NOHI projects participate in a learning collaborative (LC) supported by the Consortium for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement project (COHSII). COHSII is led by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center working with the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors and the Dental Quality Alliance. The NOHI LC is also supported by FrameShift Group.

The LC provides peer-to-peer learning opportunities for members to share information about successes, lessons learned, and challenges related to implementing models of care and building capacity around three core function areas:

  1. Data, analysis, and evaluation
  2. Outreach and education
  3. Policy and practice

LC members have shared project resources (e.g., practice readiness assessments, training tools, educational materials, workflows) and strategies for project implementation (e.g., motivating clinics to stay engaged in NOHI project activities, engaging patients, improving oral health providers’ capacity to provide timely care for referred patients, sustaining the integration of oral health care into primary care). The cross-pollination of ideas and resources shared among LC participants enhances project activities and enables projects to achieve more collectively than they could as individual projects.

NOHI Portal Login

Program Objectives and Common Metrics

  • Program Objective 1
    90 percent of providers participating in trainings organized by the network will increase their knowledge of preventive oral health care and the key components of oral health integration.
  • Program Objective 2
    90 percent of providers participating in trainings organized by the network will deliver preventive oral health care.
  • Program Objective 3
    35 percent of parents/caregivers of pediatric patients in MCH safety net setting(s) participating in the network will increase their knowledge/awareness about preventive oral health practices.
  • Program Objective 4
    75 percent of children and adolescents in MCH safety net setting(s) participating in the network who are identified at high risk will be referred for dental services (preventive and/or restorative), as appropriate.
  • Program Objective 5
    50 percent of children and adolescents in MCH safety net setting(s) participating in the network will receive preventive oral health services
  • Program Objective 6
    Identify and define components of successful interventions to implement a model of care that successfully integrates oral health into an MCH safety net setting, aimed at increasing access and delivery of dental services.

The NOHI projects collaborated to identify common metrics that address the program objectives and metrics unique to their specific project.

Environmental Scan

The NOHI projects collaborated to develop an environmental scan tool to gain knowledge about factors that could impact the integration of oral health care into primary care for pregnant women, infants, and children at high risk for oral disease in 11 states and Washington, DC. NOHI project staff and partners conducted the environmental scan and interpreted the data. The results of the third environmental scan are presented in Networks for Oral Health Integration (NOHI) Within the Maternal and Child Health Safety Net: Environmental Scan 2023 Chartbook. The chartbook presents data related to scope of practice for medical and dental providers, Medicaid billing and payment, and policies and regulations. View a presentation about the environmental scan and how the results are used to inform policy at the state legislative and agency level.

Environmental Scan Chartbook 2023

A set of project chartbooks complement the 12 state/jurisdiction chartbook.

Ressourcen

Community Health Center Assessments


Community Health Center Coaching Tools


Community Health Workers


Data Collection and Reporting


Oral Health Risk Assessment


Patient Engagement, Education, Satisfaction, Self-Management Goals


Sustaining the Integration of Oral Health Care and Primary Care


Training Tools and Assessments


For additional resources see Integrating Oral Health Care Into Primary Care: A Resource Guide (2020).

Kontakt

If you have questions or need additional information about the project, please contact Susan Lorenzo, Technical Assistance and Training Project Manager/Librarian.