Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111313

M. Chris Herren, DMD, Department of Oral Health Practice, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Team Leader, Chandler Medical Center M-234x, Lexington, KY 40536, 859-323-2529, cherr0@e-mail.uky.edu, Linda Grace Piker, MS, RD, LD, Kentucky Oral Health Program, Kentucky Department for Public Health, 275 East Main St., HS2C, Frankfort, KY 40621-0001, Judith Skelton, MEd, PHD, Oral Health Science-Academic Affairs, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Associate Professor, 1117 S. Limestone, Lexington, KY 40503, Larry L. Cunningham, DDS, MD, Assistant Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; UK College of Medicine: Division of General Surgery, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, D 522 Dental Science Building, Lexington, KY 40503, and George J. Graham, PhD, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, 121 Washington Ave, Rm 103C, Lexington, KY 40536-0003.

The purpose of this program is to develop and introduce continuing education on domestic violence to practicing dental professionals. The prevalence of adult women in United States reporting intimate partner violence (IPV) is one out of four (25.5%); while, the prevalence of adult women in Kentucky reporting (IPV) has increased from one out of five (21.0%) women in 1979 to one out of three women (36.6%) in 2002-2003. Although Kentucky dentists treat victims of domestic violence (VDV) in their practices, training to identify VDV and standard referral procedures for VDV are lacking or insufficient for a significant number of Kentucky dental health professionals. The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and the Kentucky Oral Health Program seek to address this problem by: continuing to review Kentucky specific IPV data; presenting a domestic violence continuing education course at the Kentucky Dental Association's Annual Conference and professional dental meetings statewide; development of collaborations with partners and development of a domestic violence toolkit and continuing education training for dental professionals, which will include techniques for establishing written protocols and policies regarding screening, treatment and referrals of VDV dental patients. There is a need for this type of continuing education and instruction. An evaluation will be conducted to determine the efficacy of the toolkit and continuing education content and format.

Learning Objectives: Kentucky dental health professionals, who are participants in the domestic violence/oral health continuing education course

• will recognize 5 or more signs and symptoms of domestic violence;
• will be able to articulate the Kentucky domestic violence reporting laws;
• will articulate the mechanisms for referring victims of domestic violence to appropriate agencies;
• will be able to recognize at least 3 documentation guidelines for victims of domestic violence;
• will be able to identify 3 national or statewide domestic violence statistics;
• will recognize 3 barriers to access of services of domestic violence.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Oral Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.