University of Maryland, School of Dentistry
650 W. Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD
United States
University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMD) is seeking funding to launch a prenatal & postpartum advisory board (PPAB) to identify avenues to decrease oral health disparities during and post-pregnancy in Maryland. This advisory board will be representative of community members with lived experience, academicians, community practitioners, and patient advocacy groups. Findings of the PPAB will ultimately be utilized by oral health advocates to make recommendations for upcoming implementation of expanded benefits for post-partum people to 12 months.
UMD’s first activity is to recruit the 10-12 person PPAB through community partners, the Maryland Department of Health, professional associations, academic faculty and known prenatal medical providers. UMD staff will survey participants to understand the diversity of the group in order to form an effective facilitation plan.
The next phase of the project is to solidify shared norms and understanding among the team. PPAD participants will receive an equity and implicit bias. Participants will also be trained in basic healthcare jargon, to ensure that conversation among the group remains inclusive and productive. A communications cadence will then be identified.
Once team mores are solidified, the PPAB will develop a prioritized list of barriers to oral health care for low-income and prenatal and postpartum individuals and examine these for opportunities for better integration of care and improved access.
The project will be assessed, and findings will be shared broadly throughout Maryland’s oral health network.
UMD will engage with an equity consultant, Iron Sharpens Iron, to manage the advisory board work. The project overall will be overseen by a Strategic Oversight Group, which includes UMD staff, clinicians, and the CEO of Maryland Dental Action Coalition, to which CareQuest Institute provides funding.
Budget line items include personnel, consultant costs, partnership fees, expenses for PPAB meetings and travel costs. This request represents less than 1% of the organization’s overall budget.