thi oral health program
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“Oral Health is a reflection of the physiological, psychological, and social factors that are essential to our quality of life”. Learn more about the impact of poor oral health on our lives.
We thank our national advisors, all stakeholders, our partners at the Texas Oral Health Coalition and the DentaQuest Foundation for their support and participation in this shared initiative. To learn more about our efforts and to participate in this initiative, please contact Ankit Sanghavi, Director for Community and Oral Health Program, THI at asanghavi@texashealthinstitute.org. |
the program
In 2000, the Surgeon General in his report on oral health, described oral diseases as a ‘silent epidemic’. Oral health is an integral dimension of overall physical health and well-being. Research has suggested the need to cease the idea of viewing the mouth separately from the rest of the body because oral health affects general health by causing considerable pain and suffering thus leading to a poor quality of life and well-being. Additionally, it complicates chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart diseases, etc.
THI'S ORAL HEALTH VISION
We seek to improve the oral health of Texans by engaging in research and projects that:
- Evaluate and improve methods to monitor oral diseases and outcomes
- Reduce disparities in access to dental care
- Increase awareness about oral health and its effect on overall health and well-being
- Increase awareness for a data-driven and evidence based policy development process at the state and national level
kEY FACTS
- 75% of Americans have some type of mouth disease
- Tooth decay is the most chronic illness among school-age children
- Almost, 6 out of 10 Texas children have a history of dental decay and over a quarter have it untreated
- Over 19% of Texas population lives in a dental HPSA (Health Professional Shortage Area), which is higher than the national average of 15%
- Employed adults loose over 164 million work hours a year related to oral health problems
We are excited to announce our partnership with the Texas Oral Health Coalition to Advance the Oral Health Movement in Texas. To learn more and participate in our ongoing initiative please click here.
Our Partners
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Advancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas
(End of Year 1 Meeting)
Texas Health Institute in collaboration with the Texas Oral Health Coalition hosted the end of year 1 meeting of Advancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas initiative on June 09, 2017 in Austin, Texas.
The meeting started with presentations from key national experts and advisors on current national efforts and best practices for each of the five workgroup focus areas. The workgroup focus areas include Academia, Interprofessional Collaboration, Communications, Oral Health Equity, and Policy. This was followed with updates and summary of workgroup activities during Year 1 of this initiative and their plans for Year 2 and forward.
We also released a video to increase awareness about oral health as a lifespan and public health issue, and to invite more stakeholders to join us in our collective effort! To view the presentations by national experts, the oral health video, and also review the one-pager on oral health disparities in Texas, developed by the Oral Health Equity workgroup click on the links below.
The meeting started with presentations from key national experts and advisors on current national efforts and best practices for each of the five workgroup focus areas. The workgroup focus areas include Academia, Interprofessional Collaboration, Communications, Oral Health Equity, and Policy. This was followed with updates and summary of workgroup activities during Year 1 of this initiative and their plans for Year 2 and forward.
We also released a video to increase awareness about oral health as a lifespan and public health issue, and to invite more stakeholders to join us in our collective effort! To view the presentations by national experts, the oral health video, and also review the one-pager on oral health disparities in Texas, developed by the Oral Health Equity workgroup click on the links below.
AGENDA
Year End Meeting Agenda
PRESENTATIONS
Academia - Donna Hallas, CPNP, FAANP, PhD, PMHS, PPCNP-BC
Communication - Matt Jacob, BA
Interprofessional Collaboration - Anita Glicken, MSW
Policy - Pat Finnerty, MPA, BS
Year End Meeting Agenda
PRESENTATIONS
Academia - Donna Hallas, CPNP, FAANP, PhD, PMHS, PPCNP-BC
Communication - Matt Jacob, BA
Interprofessional Collaboration - Anita Glicken, MSW
Policy - Pat Finnerty, MPA, BS
CONCLUDING REMARKS (JULY 12, 2017)
The Texas Health Institute (THI) and Texas Oral Health Coalition (TxOHC) are pleased to announce the successful end to the first year of our collaborative initiative, Advancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas. We wish to thank our stakeholders, partners and national advisors for their support and participation in this shared initiative. Many of you that attended the June 9th year end meeting expressed an interest in sharing the oral health video premiered. “Oral health is a reflection of the physiological, psychological, and social factors that are essential to our quality of life.” Learn more about the impact of poor oral health on our lives here and feel free to share with others.
As we shared during the June 9th meeting, each workgroup has done a wonderful job in involving different stakeholders and creating a strong foundation to build upon. Our focus over the next year and thereafter will be to translate these activities and plans into concrete actions/deliverables at the grassroots level. These may include completion and dissemination of tools/resources that we have created in Year 1, community engagement to inform next steps in the process, training and technical assistance for community members, etc. That said, we realize that these might need more resources in terms of time and funding to support the implementation. To that end, currently, we (THI-TxOHC) are in the process of securing mini-grants for each of our five workgroups to help us implement our plans. This also gives each one of us an opportunity to be innovative and implement ideas that align with our collaborative work and maximize the use of resources we have. Lastly, both of us (Beth and Ankit) will continue to be involved with the workgroup tasks and continue to engage key state and national stakeholders to support our work.
As a next step, your respective workgroup facilitator will follow-up with your workgroup in the next several days to follow-up on the June 9th meeting and develop a work plan for the next 6 months. A goal based approach has worked for us and we want to continue with it. Our plan should have a well-defined, measurable goal for December 2017. We will reassess our progress at that time and develop our goals for June 2018. Onward and Upward!
If you attended the June 9th meeting and are interested in participating on a workgroup, please email Beth Stewart or Ankit Sanghavi .
Thank you all again for your many efforts in Advancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas!
The Texas Health Institute (THI) and Texas Oral Health Coalition (TxOHC) are pleased to announce the successful end to the first year of our collaborative initiative, Advancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas. We wish to thank our stakeholders, partners and national advisors for their support and participation in this shared initiative. Many of you that attended the June 9th year end meeting expressed an interest in sharing the oral health video premiered. “Oral health is a reflection of the physiological, psychological, and social factors that are essential to our quality of life.” Learn more about the impact of poor oral health on our lives here and feel free to share with others.
As we shared during the June 9th meeting, each workgroup has done a wonderful job in involving different stakeholders and creating a strong foundation to build upon. Our focus over the next year and thereafter will be to translate these activities and plans into concrete actions/deliverables at the grassroots level. These may include completion and dissemination of tools/resources that we have created in Year 1, community engagement to inform next steps in the process, training and technical assistance for community members, etc. That said, we realize that these might need more resources in terms of time and funding to support the implementation. To that end, currently, we (THI-TxOHC) are in the process of securing mini-grants for each of our five workgroups to help us implement our plans. This also gives each one of us an opportunity to be innovative and implement ideas that align with our collaborative work and maximize the use of resources we have. Lastly, both of us (Beth and Ankit) will continue to be involved with the workgroup tasks and continue to engage key state and national stakeholders to support our work.
As a next step, your respective workgroup facilitator will follow-up with your workgroup in the next several days to follow-up on the June 9th meeting and develop a work plan for the next 6 months. A goal based approach has worked for us and we want to continue with it. Our plan should have a well-defined, measurable goal for December 2017. We will reassess our progress at that time and develop our goals for June 2018. Onward and Upward!
If you attended the June 9th meeting and are interested in participating on a workgroup, please email Beth Stewart or Ankit Sanghavi .
Thank you all again for your many efforts in Advancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas!
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CONTACT INFO
THI Ankit Sanghavi, BDS, MPH Community & Oral Health Program Director (512) 279-3919 asanghavi@texashealthinstitute.org |
