Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Homa Amini, DDS, MPH, MS and Paul S. Casamassimo, DDS, MS. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Columbus Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Dr., Columbus, OH 43205, (614)722-5606, aminih@chi.osu.edu

Low literacy has been linked to adverse health outcomes such as less understanding and use of preventive services and higher rates of hospitalization. It is estimated that low health literacy costs the health care system $73 billion a year. Many individuals with limited oral health literacy may not be able to find or understand information; hence, they do not receive needed preventive and restorative dental services. The overall goal of the project was to improve the literacy program participants' oral health knowledge and oral health status. This project called for a collaborative effort between the Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Columbus Literacy Council, and Columbus Children's Hospital to develop and implement a community-based oral health literacy program targeting English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) participants. An oral health literacy curriculum designed to improve the participants' ability to read, comprehend, understand, and act on health care information related to good oral health was incorporated in the classroom teaching. In addition, dental students were utilized to provide free dental screenings and assist the participants with accessing services at the College of Dentistry.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• List components of an oral health literacy curriculum developed for immigrants enrolled in adult literacy programs.
• Discuss steps taken to implement and evaluate a community-based oral health literacy project.
• Articulate lessons learned, including barriers and pitfalls.

Keywords: Health Literacy, Oral Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered