NMDA Journal Fall 2019

18 New Mexico Dental Journal, Fall 2019  continued from page 17 Finally, another intervention recommended by the Community Guide is the use of a “Mass Media campaign along with Health-Related Prod- uct Distributions”. 15 Within this program are three specific behaviors that are under study; “facilitating the adoption of good oral health be- haviors, sustaining the cessation of harmful behaviors, and preparing individuals with a protection against behavior-related disease”. 15 While this intervention mainly focuses on behavioral health, it is also related to oral health as there is often a direct correlation found between the two. Mass media campaigns can reach a large population and will be more effective if directed towards populations at the greatest risk for poor oral health. Potential Sources of Error There were several potential sources of error in this research, which may have impacted the results. A few of these sources include that the size of the patient pool interviewed was smaller than one- hundred people, hence the data may not be as accurate as if there were more interviewed patients. Also, the patient pool was selected by the dentists and staff at the facility, so the participants were not randomized in the study. In addition, the patients may have expe- rienced the “lab-coat” phenomenon as patients noticeably spoke more when interviewed by an individual wearing scrubs or a lab- coat than an individual wearing a business casual outfit. Sometimes, the interview was conducted faster with patients in the dental resi- dency clinic, since the environment is relatively faster paced than the ASC. Finally, a patient could manipulate the data by either lying or making a mistake in their response, which isn’t accounted for. Conclusion & Attainment of Capstone Goals In conclusion, there are several oral health barriers which have led to an endemic problem here in New Mexico. These barriers include the possible lack of awareness a patient may have, the gaps in oral health literacy, the perception of oral health being a step below primary healthcare, the lack of easily reachable and available dental services due to insurance acceptances and rurality, and fear. Each of these barriers make oral health one of many components of health that must be addressed to better New Mexican lives. Though this re- search performed under the capstone was a confirmation of the on- going issue with oral health barriers, and listed a few interventions to these problems, this capstone helped its researchers attain mul- tiple population health competency goals. These goals included the development of analytical skills to utilize and apply critical thinking in a “real-world” setting, improvement of individual skills in the com- munity dimensions of population health, promotion of knowledge on the biological principles of diseases, expansion of dental termi- nology to improve individual communication skills and research in a specialized population health setting, and the utilization of biosta- tistics to promote oral health. With a completion of this research and capstone course, the promotion of good oral health in New Mexico has been exemplified. Editor'sNote: Abdullah wrote this article for his Population Health 475 class at the UNM Dental Residency Clinic in May. Resources 1. CDC. (26 June 2018) “Public Health Professionals Gateway: 10 Essential Public Health Services.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/publichealthservices/ essentialhealthservices.html 2. US Census. (2017). “American Community Survey.” U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from: talkpoverty.org/ state-year-report/new-mexico-2018-report/ 3. Bate, D.. (9 August 2018). “The high cost of being broke.” PBS: National Public Radio. Retrieved from: whyy.org/ segments/highcost-of-being-broke-dental-care/ 4. OCR. (26 July 2013). “Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule.” US Department of Health & Human Services–Office of Civil Rights. Retrieved from: www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/index.html 5. Grant, J., Koppelman, J.. (2018). “Project: Dental Campaign.” The Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved from: www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/dental-campaign/about 6. ADA. (November 2018). “Dentist Participation in Medicaid or CHIP.” Health Policy Institute. Retrieved from: www.ada.org/en/science-research/health-policy-institute/dental-statistics/dental-benefits-and-medicaid 7. NM-IBIS. (October 2018). “Complete Health Indicator Report of Medicaid/Medicare Enrollment.” NewMexico’s Indicator-Based Information System. Retrieved from: ibis.health.state.nm.us/indicator/complete_profile/ MedicaidEnroll.html 8. Camino de Salud Dental Clinics. (N/A). “Dentistry—Patient Care.” UNM Health Sciences Centers. Retrieved from: hsc.unm.edu/health/patient-care/dentistry/index.html 9. Medicaid. (2019). “Dental Care.” US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Retrieved from: www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/dental/index.html 10. Medicare. (2019). “Dental Services.” US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Retrieved from: www.medicare.gov/coverage/dental-services 11. Wallin A.. (2015). “Kids Count in NewMexico. NewMexico Voices for Children.” Retrieved from: www.nmvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2015-NM-KC-data-book.pdf 12. Healthy People 2020. (8 October 2018). “Oral Health: Overview, Objectives, Interventions, and Resources.” Retrieved from: www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/oral-health 13. ADA. (July 2012). “10 Reasons to Fluoridate Public Water.” American Dental Association. Retrieved from: www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Member%20Center/FIles/article_10reasons.ashx 14. Community Guide. (March 2015). “Health Equity: School Based Health Centers.” US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from: www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/ promoting-health-equity-through-education-programs-and-policies-school-based-health-centers 15.CommunityGuide. (December2010).“HealthCommunicationandSocialMarketing:CampaignsThat IncludeMass Media and Health-Related Product Distribution.” US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from: www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/health-communication-and-social-marketing-campaigns-include- mass-media-and-health-related