Iowa's Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health will address the burden of disease and gaps in disparities using oral health surveillance and evidence-based interventions. - The purpose of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to increase access to optimally fluoridated water and evidence based preventive dental services; improve adherence to infection prevention and control recommendations; increase access to data in order to build evidence for public health practice; increase access to dental care; decrease dental decay; and increase availability of information that supports integrated medical and dental services for Iowans with diabetes to decrease the burden of oral disease. Populations of focus include Iowa water systems, Medicaid-enrolled adults with Type 2 diabetes, I-Smile Silver (older adult) clients, urban and rural elementary schools with 50% or higher free-reduced lunch rates, low income communities with high (≥34%) decay rates of children ages 0-14, I-Smile @ School (sealant and fluoride varnish) Program students and staff, and Federally Qualified Health Center dental clinic staff. Anticipated outcomes through grant project activities will reduce the burden of oral disease among populations of focus through: increased receipt of fluoridation data from water systems statewide; increased access to water from optimally fluoridated water systems statewide; increased dissemination of analyzed secondary data about relationships between the oral health of adults with Type 2 diabetes; increased availability of and access to local/small area and state program data, evidence based preventive dental service programs, and information about Medicaid/CHIP-enrolled children receiving evidence based dental services; and, increased awareness and use of dental infection prevention and control recommendations and resources statewide. This application, submitted by the Iowa HHS Community Access and Eligibility Division, is submitted under the Iowa Department of Public Health SAM.gov account. The state of Iowa began to realign the Iowa Departments of Public Health, Human Services, Aging, and Human Rights three years ago. The merger was effective July 1, 2023. Until the final steps of the transition are complete, public health-related applications will be submitted through the existing Iowa Department of Public Health account.
