Tools for Strengthening State Oral Health Program Competencies

1. Tools for Strengthening State Oral Health Program Competencies Beverly Isman, RDH, MPH, ELS Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD)

2. Presenter Disclosure • The following personal financial relationships with commercial interests relevant to this presentation existed during the past 12 months: I am a paid consultant for ASTDD • Project supported by CDC Cooperative Agreement #5U58DP001695

3. Educational Objectives 1. Describe resources developed for states by ASTDD. 2. Give examples of how states have used the resources to improve their oral health infrastructure, capacity, collaborations and preventive services. 3. Discuss how these resources could be adapted for use by other groups or by local communities.

4. NOHSS BPAR IEP SOHPR BSS NOHC

5. ASTDD • A national non-profit organization representing staff of state public health agency programs for oral health. • Collaborates with multiple organizations and federal agencies to accomplish its mission and to share best practices, evidence-based strategies and resources to support improvements in oral health programs.

6. ASTDD Committees and Focus Areas to Help States • Best Practices • Communications • CSHCN • Data and Surveillance • Emergency Preparedness and Response • Evaluation • Fluorides • Head Start and Early Childhood • Healthy Aging • Perinatal • Policy • School and Adolescent Oral Health • State Development and Enhancement

7. CDC Support • CDC has provided cooperative agreement support to ASTDD since 1999 to develop tools and provide technical assistance to states to improve oral health infrastructure and capacity.

8. ASTDD Communication Tools • Annual report • Quarterly newsletter • Weekly News Digest • Website • Multiple targeted listservs • Webinars • Exhibit booth • Annual meeting and the National Oral Health Conference

9. Guidelines for State and Territorial Oral Health Programs • Key document based on 10 Essential Public Health Services to Promote Oral Health in the US • Matrix of State Roles, Activities and Resources under the categories of Assessment, Policy Development and Assurance • Used in the mentoring program; program reviews; advocacy for oral health, state program support and policy change; to develop a state oral health plan

10. Competencies for State Oral Health Programs • 78 Competencies in 7 domains with progression of skill levels • Focus on Core PH Functions and Essential Services for the whole program; clinical competencies not included • Integrated into Mentoring program, State OH Program Reviews and TA • State and local health agencies use for strategic planning, to develop scopes of work, align staffing skills, advocate for additional resources to fill gaps in skills, and to create team or individual professional development plans.

11. Orientation and Mentoring Program • Orientation webinars acquaint new members with ASTDD and the resources available • Mentoring program pairs a new dental director with an experienced dental director to communicate via phone, email or site visits to provide guidance/peer support in developing and administering a strong state program to improve the oral health of a state’s residents • Mentee evaluations note how this program increased their knowledge, confidence and skills in a variety of areas.

12. ASTDD 7 Step Model • Designed to make needs assessment simpler and more manageable • Step-by-step guide • Can be adapted to specific community resources and objectives • The process provides integrated information about health status, the existing health system and health resources.

13. State Oral Health Program Review (SOHPR) Manual • Guide for states to request a comprehensive oral health program review by a team with diverse areas of expertise • Includes a variety of self-assessment tools: SWOT analysis, core data set checklist, budget worksheet, briefing booklet • Reviews help with strategic planning and program prioritization, rallying support from and collaboration with multiple stakeholders, increasing program visibility and highlighting successes, identifying TA needs and need for additional resources • Recent reviews in AK and MA

14. Collaboration Evaluation Handbook • Provides a framework and strategies for planning, evaluating and improving collaboration with other groups • Materials and concepts can apply to programs or coalitions • States use to identify new partners, assess levels of collaboration with current partners, prioritize partnerships to assure effectiveness and efficiency of efforts.

15. Emergency Preparedness Protocols • Address the role of state oral health programs in emergency preparedness and response operations of state health agencies • Include guidelines, worksheets and checklists • States use to promote involvement of dental workforce in response teams and to assure that SOHPs and dental clinics are prepared for any type of emergency or disaster.

16. Infrastructure Enhancement Project • Describes the revised state oral health program infrastructure elements: • Policy Work, Evidence-Based Prevention and Promotion Programs • State Planning, Evaluation Capacity • Surveillance Capacity • SOHP Leadership/Staffing, Public & Private Partnerships/Collaborations, Coalitions, champions/Advocates • Resources: Funding and Technical Assistance, SOHP Position and Authority within the PH System • States are using for advocacy and policy development to improve and sustain their programs in times of economic and political challenges

17. Best Practices Project • Purpose: Build more effective state, territorial and • community oral health programs • Best Practice Approach Reports: 12 with more coming • State and Community Practice Examples: 200+ • Most viewed portion of the ASTDD website • States use to make decisions and improve programs

18. National Oral Health Surveillance System (NOHSS) • Designed to monitor burden of oral disease, use of the oral health care delivery system, and status of community water fluoridation on a national and state level. • 9 indicators: 4 adult OH, 3 child OH, 1 fluoridation status, and 1 oral cancer • Programs use frequently for state comparisons and in grantwriting and reports to policymakers.

19. State Synopses of Oral Health Programs • An annual report and a website contain state information useful in tracking progress toward Healthy People objectives • Display trends in demographics, infrastructure, workforce, administration, budget, and programs across multiple years. • Programs use the information similar to how they use NOHSS and ASTDD uses for trend analysis

20. Basic Screening Survey (BSS) • A tool for obtaining data for an oral health surveillance system to monitor the burden of oral disease without overtaxing limited human resources in collecting data. • Manuals, examiner training videos, implementation packets and other associated materials are available for children (primarily 3rd grade and preschool) and for older adults. • ASTDD consultants provide more than 100 hours of TA to states each year • 3rd grade data have been submitted by 43 states to NOHSS as of 2012. • Many states have published oral disease burden documents.

21. Policy Assistance

22. Challenges • Identifying resources that states need and the most relevant format • Funding and expertise to develop and disseminate resources in a timely manner • Marketing resources to catch attention and motivate states to use and ask for TA • Creating resources that are easy to understand and use • Encouraging evaluation of resources and acquiring feedback

23. For More Information ASTDD Christine Wood Executive Director 1838 Fieldcrest Drive Sparks, NV  89434 Tel: 775-626-5008 Fax: 775-626-9268 cwood@astdd.org http://www.astdd.org