Interprofessional collaboration and smartphone use as promising strategies to improve prenatal oral health care utilizat
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Interprofessional collaboration and smartphone use as promising strategies to improve prenatal oral health care utilization among US underserved women: results from a qualitative study Lin Wang1,2, Johana Ren3, Kevin A. Fiscella4, Sherita Bullock5, Mechelle R. Sanders4, Elizabeth L. Loomis4, Eli Eliav1, Michael Mendoza4,6, Rita Cacciato1, Marie Thomas3, Dorota T. Kopycka‑Kedzierawski1, Ronald J. Billings1 and Jin Xiao1*
Abstract Background: Data on barriers and facilitators to prenatal oral health care among low-income US women are lacking. The objective of this study was to understand barriers/facilitators and patient-centered mitigation strategies related to the use of prenatal oral health care among underserved US women. Methods: We used community-based participatory research to conduct two focus groups with eight pregnant/ parenting women; ten individual in-depth interviews with medical providers, dental providers and community/social workers; and one community engagement studio with five representative community stakeholders in 2018–2019. Using an interpretive description research design, we conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups which were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for thematic content. Results: We identified individual and systemic barriers/facilitators to the utilization of prenatal oral health care by underserved US women. Strategies reported to improve utilization included healthcare system-wide changes to promote inter-professional collaborations, innovative educational programs to improve dissemination and implemen‑ tation of prenatal oral health care guidelines, and specialized dental facilities providing prenatal oral health care to underserved women. Moreover, smartphones have the potential to be an innovative entry point to promote utiliza‑ tion of prenatal oral care at the individual level. Conclusions: Low-income women face multiple, addressable barriers to obtaining oral health care during preg‑ nancy. Inter-professional collaboration holds strong promise for improving prenatal oral health care utilization. Keywords: Prenatal oral health, Underserved pregnant women, Inter-professional collaboration
*Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Background Despite the well-documented association between poor maternal oral health, preterm/low-birth-weight deliveries [1, 2] and increased tooth decay in children after birth [3], many mothers-to-be do not receive timely oral health care [4]. Oral health is an important component
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