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March 5, 2024
CareQuest Institute is always seeking new voices representing historically marginalized communities to advance oral health. Through its philanthropic work, it partners with grassroots and community-based organizations that represent and engage those who are most directly impacted by oral health inequities.
On March 13, the Institute is opening two new requests for proposals, looking to fund projects and partner with organizations that are:
- Engaging schools to address systemic barriers to oral health, inclusive of access, for children and their families
- Working to address system-level barriers to oral health for veterans
The deadline to apply is May 1.
“These two areas of need came up in conversations with our community partners as both areas of need and opportunities to make change,” says Melodie Griffin, manager, grants and programs at CareQuest Institute. “The Institute has provided funding in these areas before, but is excited to take an intentional and concerted effort to bring grantees working in these areas together to learn from one another and advance access to oral health care.”
Improving Oral Health Through School-Based and School-Linked Programs
According to the National Institutes of Health’s Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges report, approximately half of all children in the United States are not receiving needed oral health care due to social, economic, and geographic barriers.
Schools present an underused opportunity to open doors to children’s oral health. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 60 million children in the US attend public or private school. Schools provide an excellent opportunity to expand access to care and well-being through oral health education, screening, assisted referrals, and preventive services. Schools can become the center for multiple opportunities to improve the oral health and overall health of students, reducing racial, ethnic, and economic disparities, and increasing students’ chances to stay in school and achieve in life.
The School-Based and School-Linked Initiatives to Improve Oral Health RFP seeks to fund creative, innovative projects that drive systemic change in oral health and that promote school-based or school-linked oral health programs. Successful school-based and school-linked oral health programs benefit from thorough planning, community collaboration, and partnerships between schools and health providers to ensure the program meets the needs of students and their families.
“Oral health care in the school-based setting took a hit after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Griffin says. “We aim to use this opportunity to reinvigorate and innovate within the oral health field to advance access to oral health care for school-aged children.”
Services may be provided in school buildings through school nurses or school-based health centers. Drop-in services, such as mobile vans operating on school grounds, may also provide oral health services. School-linked programs may also provide services through community outreach opportunities.
CareQuest Institute is prioritizing proposals that reflect the applicant’s authentic commitment to engage members of the community meaningfully and consistently throughout their proposed project.
For more information on those priorities, eligibility, selection criteria, or to apply to this RFP, click here.
Expanding Oral Health Equity and Access for Veterans
According to research from both CareQuest Institute and the American Institute for Dental Public Health, veterans have consistently high rates of periodontitis, missing teeth, and filled teeth, even when controlling for other factors like chronic medical conditions and smoking status.
Also, a new report released by CareQuest Institute shows that veterans are 60% more likely than nonveterans to experience tooth decay, impacting their daily functioning and productivity in the workplace. Veterans are also more likely than nonveterans to have health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, which are associated with poor oral health and often lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for patients. Other key data points:
- 42% of veterans reported having had gum treatment or bone loss around their teeth — a significantly higher proportion than reported by nonveterans (27%).
- Roughly two in five veterans described their oral health as fair or poor.
- Nearly 24% of veterans live in rural areas, where consistent access to care can be challenging.
“By gathering grantees across the US working to improve the oral health of veterans, we can advance access and quality of oral health care for this important population, leading to improved health overall,” says Bree Bess, grants and programs associate with CareQuest Institute.
The Veteran Oral Health RFP seeks to fund projects that drive system-level change in oral health to promote access to care for the veteran population. The criteria for selection of proposals are intentionally broad, recognizing that innovative work aligned with this strategy may employ a variety of tactics and partnerships, and that system-level barriers may vary depending on geographic region of focus.
For more information on those priorities, eligibility, selection criteria, or to apply to this RFP, click here.