@article{b08b7c10326e42dc8049a2b0c3a0b855,
title = "Acceptability of a community health worker intervention to improve the oral health of older Chinese Americans: A pilot study",
abstract = "Objective: To evaluate the acceptability of a community health worker (CHW) intervention designed to improve the oral health of low-income, urban Chinese immigrant adults. Background: Given that both dental caries and periodontitis are behaviourally mediated, biofilm-based diseases that are largely preventable with attention to regular oral hygiene practices and preventive dental visits, strategies to arrest or even heal carious lesions and high-quality maintenance care and plaque control without the need to resort to aerosol-generating surgical approaches are evidence-based best practices. Older immigrants have poorer oral health than older US-born natives, motivating the need for delivery of more effective and affordable services to this vulnerable population. Materials and Methods: CHWs were trained by the NYU College of Dentistry dental hygienist faculty members using dental models and flip charts to instruct patients on proper brushing and flossing techniques. In addition, they discussed the presented oral health promotion information one-on-one with patients, addressed any expressed concerns and encouraged prevention of oral conditions through regular dental visits and brushing with fluoride toothpaste. Results: More than 98% of the 74 older Chinese adult participants strongly agreed/agreed that the CHWs helped them to improve how they take care of their health, the CHWs answered their questions and concerns, the information and topics were informative, and the in-person demonstrations were helpful in improving oral health. Conclusion: The health of all communities depends on access to comprehensive care, including oral health care, in the wake of COVID-19. CHW interventions are acceptable to and may reach marginalised and immigrant communities.",
keywords = "Chinese Americans, community health workers, older adults, oral health equity",
author = "Northridge, {Mary E.} and Yinxiang Wu and Troxel, {Andrea B.} and Deborah Min and Rong Liu and Liang, {Li Juan} and Metcalf, {Sara S.} and {Seyedzadeh Sabounchi}, Shabnam and Stella Yi",
note = "Funding Information: Oral health is essential to overall health and well‐being, and improving the oral hygiene of older adults may even reduce the severity of SARS‐CoV‐2 infections. Utilising the full array of oral health workforce models is especially important in the context of COVID‐19, as many older adults find themselves increasingly isolated. By employing accessible and cost‐efficient providers such as CHWs who can be deployed within the community, dental clinics and private practices may be better able to effectively serve older adult patients, especially those from underserved communities, while reducing the costs of delivered oral health promotion services and preventive care. The NYU Langone Dental Medicine Postdoctoral Residency Program was recently funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for a project to integrate dental, behavioural health and social services for disadvantaged populations across the life course. Next steps are to build upon the findings of the pilot study reported here by leveraging the considerable resources of the new HRSA award towards addressing the identified shortcomings of limited follow‐up time and small sample size. 22 23 Funding Information: The authors thank the dental providers, dental students, administrators, staff and patients of the Local Community Outreach Programs?at the NYU College of Dentistry, without whose support this study would not have been possible. Funding was provided by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the project titled,?Implementing a Participatory, Multi-level Intervention to Improve Asian American Health?(grant # U56DE027447) and by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the project titled, Improving access to and delivery of oral health care services for vulnerable and rural populations across the life course (grant # D88HP37549). Funding Information: The authors thank the dental providers, dental students, administrators, staff and patients of the at the NYU College of Dentistry, without whose support this study would not have been possible. Funding was provided by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the project titled, (grant # U56DE027447) and by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the project titled, (grant # D88HP37549). Local Community Outreach Programs Implementing a Participatory, Multi‐level Intervention to Improve Asian American Health Improving access to and delivery of oral health care services for vulnerable and rural populations across the life course Funding Information: Upon successfully utilising a CHW approach in a local Sikh American oral health project, the study team was awarded funding from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a participatory, multi‐level, dynamic intervention in urban outreach centres to improve the oral health of low‐income Chinese Americans. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the acceptability of a CHW intervention designed to improve the oral health of low‐income, urban Chinese immigrant adults. 10,11 12 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Gerodontology Association. John Wiley & Sons Ltd",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1111/ger.12522",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "38",
pages = "117--122",
journal = "Gerodontology",
issn = "0734-0664",
publisher = "Blackwell Munksgaard",
number = "1",
}