Integrate the social determinants of health into dental public health practice. Identify a culturally and/or economically disparate group in your area.
What are the oral health disparities that affect this group?
What are the social justice issues that affect this group?
What other social determinants impact this group and as an oral health provider, how would you best address these?
Think beyond the most frequently identified problems (i.e., African-Americans and infant mortality, Hispanics and obesity, Native Americans and diabetes). Consider variables such as violence, workforce safety, depression, alcohol and other substance misuse, tobacco use, breast and prostate cancer, occupation-related injuries and illnesses, accidents and injuries, HIV, malnutrition and food insecurity. You are not limited to this list; these are offered to you as suggestions and you are welcome to discuss any topic not mentioned.
For this discussion:
Initial post: approximately 350 words
3 response posts: approximately 250 words each
Competencies:
5. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities, and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community, and societal levels.
6. Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health.
7. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs.
10. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
12. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
18. Communicate on oral and public health issues.
19. Advocate for public health policy, legislation, and regulations to protect and promote the public’s oral health and overall health.
20. Critically appraise evidence to address oral health issues for individuals and populations.
21. Integrate the social determinants of health into dental public health practice.
Learning Objective:
1. Identify and discuss health disparities affecting a culturally or economically disparate group.
Core Professional Attributes:
Critical Thinking
For Week 6, we will be talking about social determinants of health (SDH) in dental public health practice.
Social determinants of health are defined by one’s income, race/ethnicity, education level, work opportunities, living conditions, and access to health care…
Let’s try and write the Week 6 discussion a bit differently—
We will include our day-to-day experiences in discussions as volunteers, students, educators, to practitioners, i.e., write a scenario of any groups or patients that you have come across.
For example,
Shanti Das is a 61-year-old homeless woman who was found passed out on the streets of Mumbai. Emergency responders—(in this case police officials) found her smelling of alcohol, confused, holding her hand to her right jaw, and moaning with dental pain. An interprofessional team meets her at the community health center of India—(G.S. B. S. Medical Centre, Mumbai). So one will think—how to proceed in this case—or what will be the steps for her assessment and care?
Hence, please provide any such examples based of your experiences.
Our thought process begins with—
Are there any tools that exist to collect information on SDH?
Think—does your dental curriculum include multiple SDH experiences involving any community engagement and dental health.
As a dental student, I was well trained to take social history of patients, however, it was much different when you come in the open field to treat patients—you realize the best way to reach your patients is by understanding on how social determinants affects each one’s health. Cultural beliefs hold a great importance in the lives of a person—which is good. For example, let’s talk for a minute on diets of individuals (for example, in households of India, cooking consists of delicious yet the use of spices that makes foods over-spicy. So there are harms–such as canker sores that form in the mouth. However, research talks about the benefits of consumption of spices i.e. health promoting benefits of various phytochemicals present in spices and their role in preventing chronic diseases.
Siruguri, V., & Bhat, R. V. (2015). Assessing intake of spices by pattern of spice use, frequency of consumption and portion size of spices consumed from routinely prepared dishes in southern India. Nutrition journal, 14, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-14-7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4326183/
What did the research say—How could one be benefitted—by factors such as frequency of use of spices, portion size estimations of spices consumed, frequency of consumption of the spice containing dishes at the individual level counts.
So this gives an outline to design education materials and bring in success to educate populations considering their cultural values and beliefs.
Paper will be an extension of discussion—it includes an activity where you will be doing an “one-page flyer, poster, or infographic to inform, and empower the audience to address the issue (used in the discussion).”
Follow the directions asked—
“In your flyer/poster/infographic,
State the health problem of interest in the title of your flyer along with the specific population.
What factors put a person at risk for this illness or situation.
What factors reduce a person’s risk for getting this illness or promote longevity.
Inform what the specific at-risk population can do to reduce their risk of this specific disease and / or condition.
List a phone number and/or web site where the individual can follow up for more information or services.
Be sure to use appropriate language that is easily understandable and free of jargon.
Be mindful of not flooding your reader with excess of information and facts.”