232890 Oral health in rural South Carolina: The importance of the relationship between school nurses and the dental community

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Amy B. Martin, DrPH , Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Jeff Hatala, MBA, MMC , Department of Health Services Policy and Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Christine Veschusio , Division of Oral Health, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, SC
Janice C. Probst, PhD , University of South Carolina, South Carolina Rural Health Research Center, Columbia, SC
Background: Oral health is a significant unmet need among children, especially those who are rural or poor. Our research examined access to dental care issues and the degree to which school-aged children have access to care from the perspective of school nurses.

Methods: We examined challenges experienced by South Carolina school nurses when coordinating dental care for children who lack regular sources of dental care. We conducted an electronic survey of school nurses practicing in South Carolina public schools in October 2008.

Results: About 88% (n=784) school nurses responded to the survey. Approximately a third (30.66%) of the responding nurses represented rural schools. More than a third of dentists who accept referrals from school nurses saw children with no ability to pay for care. School nurses reported parents not following-up or missing appointments (85%) as the biggest barrier to accessing dental care. In rural communities, lack of parent involvement (p <.05) was identified by nurses as a barrier, as was being unable to reach parents, and finding a dentist to care for children with special health care needs.

Conclusion The challenges that school nurses reported they faced are not driven by the dental community, but by the parents of the children needing oral health services. One key to providing successful oral health care to these students lies in parental involvement and support for their children. Nurses, schools and the dental community need to leverage the positive partnership to develop ways that further encourage parents to support their children.

Learning Objectives:
Determine the degree to which school nurses experience difficulties in coordinating oral health services for children who lack a regular source of dental care Determine if rural and urban school nurses experience challenges to different degrees when coordinating oral health services

Keywords: Oral Health Needs, Children's Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I collected and analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript for this study.
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.

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