In September 2015, NIDCR continued its commitment to research aimed at reducing inequities in access to oral healthcare and in oral health, by funding the Oral Health Disparities in Children (OHDC) Consortium, initially made up of nine separate studies focused on the oral health of U.S. children, with support from a single data coordinating center. This initiative reflects NIDCR’s support for research with active community engagement. The Consortium is expected to catalyze advances in the areas of population health promotion, disease prevention, and access to care. Each of the studies addresses a range of determinants of health and risk factors at varied levels of influence, such as individual, family, community, organizational/institutional, health services, or public policy. The studies will also conduct cost analyses of interventions.
Research centers of the OHDC Consortium focus on active community engagement in reducing oral health disparities.
- Stuart Gansky / Francisco Ramos-Gomez- BEhavioral EConomics for Oral health iNnovation (BEECON)
- Molly Martin - COordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP)
- Belinda Borrelli / Michelle Henshaw - Interactive Short Messages to Initiate Lasting Education (iSMILE) Trial
- Suchitra Nelson - Pediatric Providers Against Cavities in Children's Teeth (PACT) Trial
A Coordinating Center (CC) based at UCSF also coordinates and supports the four research projects.
- Center to Address Disparities in Oral Health (CAN DO), UCSF
- Belinda Borrelli / Michelle Henshaw, Boston University
- Joanna Cunha-Cruz, University of Washington
- Stuart Gansky / Francisco Ramos-Gomez, UCSF
- Raul Garcia, Boston University
- Melanie Simmer-Beck/ Patricia Kelly, University of Missouri, Kansas City
- Molly Martin, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Elizabeth Mertz / Joel White, UCSF, Center to Address Disparities in Oral Health (CAN DO), UCSF
- Suchitra Nelson, Case Western Reserve University
- Anne Sanders / Gary Slade, University of North Carolina