220783 Communicating periodontal disease to diabetic patients: A qualitative study of provider communication in an American Indian community clinic

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Jennifer Jordan (Oneida), MEd, CHES , Student-School of Public Health, Walden University, Baltimore, MD
Angela Witt Prehn, PhD , School of Health Sciences, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
Regina A. Galer-Unti, PhD, CHES , School of Health Sciences, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
Health care providers see patients with multiple health problems. One substantial problem health care providers face when working with American Indian/Alaska Native communities is type 2 diabetes. According to the CDC (2007) American Indian/Alaska Native adults, "…are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes and its complications." A complication that can affect an adult with type 2 diabetes is periodontal disease. The purpose of this research is to look at the communcation patterns of health care providers and how they communicate the relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease to their adult type 2 diabetic patients. The purpose of this research is to determine if the burden of periodontal disease education in the American Indian/Alaska Native diabetic population is being placed upon the dental providers since periodontal disease is considered an oral health issue. The significance of this research is to determine if more provider education is needed in order to lessen the burden on one set of health care providers. The overall goal of this research is to look at provider communication patterns with American Indian/Alaska Native diabetic patients regarding periodontal disease along with looking for potential education loopholes that may need to be closed.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Provision of health care to the public
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. The Learner will be able to describe in detail, a working definition of health literacy. 2. The Learner will be able to describe 3 components of health literacy as it pertains to type 2 diabetes and healthcare professionals working in an American Indian Community Clinic.

Keywords: American Indians, Diabetes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the primary and only researcher for this project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2049.0: Research, Health Promotion, Policy and Environment: Examples of Public Health in Indigenous Communities