DHY 251 - Community Oral Health

1. Analyze the connection between people’s health and community oral health.
   1. Identify public health problems, including dental disease, within a community and relate them to public health measures or solutions.
   2. Illustrate the role of government in public health solutions and appraise its role in the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th Century.
   3. Examine the basic core functions of public health and how the dental hygienist plays a role in various community oral health practices within each core function.
2. Compare and contrast responsibilities included in a public health career, including program development, implementation and evaluation in a variety of settings.
   1. Distinguish between independent options versus community agency options as possible public health careers for dental hygienists.
   2. Examine the problem of access to oral health care as it relates to an increased need for more dental hygienists in the public health arena.
   3. Identify the common skills and educational requirements for both private practice and public health service.
3. Evaluate how community health is affected by social, demographic, political, economic, and technological changes.
   1. Describe the basic terms, concepts and characteristics of epidemiology as they pertain to community health.
   2. Summarize the conceptual models that illustrate the determinants of health and how those determinants affect the health of individuals and communities, including oral health.
   3. Compare and contrast the different methods of data collection utilized in community health assessments and how that data supports program development and future program evaluation.
   4. Compare the health goals and objectives of the most recent Healthy People initiative to the previous 10-year Healthy People initiative to assess the successes and failures or those initiatives.
   5. Identify oral health disparities and contrast that to current trends of oral health in the United States.
4. Appraise community oral health programs as opportunities for achieving improved oral health and ultimately, overall health.
   1. Identify oral health programs at multiple levels of government and illustrate how program goals and objectives are essential to the success of program planning, implementation and evaluation.
   2. Summarize the benefits of primary prevention programs, including fluoridation, sealants, and oral health education.
   3. Identify and differentiate between different funding streams and structures for obtaining dental services through public health systems.
5. Evaluate methods of research which yield reliable evidenced-based information.
   1. Defend the various parameters of the scientific research method and equate that to dependable conclusions of statistical significance.
   2. Describe the criteria for reviewing scientific literature and interpret its importance in evidenced-based decision-making.
   3. Summarize in-depth research findings and relate those findings to professional peers from the dental hygiene community through a formal presentation.
6. Appraise various promotion efforts within a community health setting that can increase demand for care, use of dental services, and preventive self-care measures.
   1. Evaluate various health promotion theories and their application to the promotion of oral health.
   2. Describe various accepted and innovative health-messaging strategies for delivering health information to consumer groups.
   3. Summarize the basic components, advantages, and limitations of various methods of presenting scientific information to health professionals.
   4. Describe various service-learning programs that enhance a dental hygienist’s understanding of and opportunity for community involvement.
   5. Assess various professional organizations that offer professional growth and development in the field of community and dental public health.
   6. Summarize each health care professional’s role and define their responsibility in patient care.
   7. Analyze the roles and responsibilities of various health care professionals, including Dental Hygiene professionals, working in a reciprocal and collaborative relationship for the benefit of the patient’s total health care.
7. Assess the concept of social responsibility as it pertains to personal and professional ethics.
   1. Interpret the various opinions surrounding health as a right or a privilege.
   2. Relate how the current delivery of oral health care services affects access to care.
   3. Predict how the concept of need versus demand affects allocation of resources and ultimately affects the hygienist’s role as Consumer Advocate and Educator.
   4. Illustrate the responsibility of the dental hygienist within the realm of community education, risk communication, leadership, cultural competency and his/her role in providing care to special populations.
   5. Prepare a community outreach presentation that draws upon educational and communications skills, which addresses the specific oral health needs of a particular geriatric population.
   6. Produce a lesson plan that draws upon educational and communication skills, which addresses the specific oral health needs of a particular school-aged population.
8. Recognize general physical, mental, emotional, and systemic characteristics of the geriatric population and indicate how those might influence or be influenced by unmet oral health care needs.
   1. Describe the demographics, risk factors, disease patterns, physiological changes, and psychological factors that have implications for oral changes and treatment challenges.
   2. Discuss likely educational needs of geriatric populations based on their unique oral conditions.