Albuquerque Area Dental Support Center - The Albuquerque Area Dental Support Center (AADSC), operated by Native American Professional Parent Resources (NAPPR), Inc. NAPPR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Urban Indian organization, as defined by 25 U.S.C. 1603(29), located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since 2001, the AADSC has provided support, guidance, training, and enhancement to all Indian Health Service (IHS) Albuquerque Area dental programs to ensure measurable improvements in the oral health of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) patients. Continuing this work is the purpose of this proposed project. Drawing on long-standing relationships with IHS, Tribal, and Urban (I/T/U) dental programs and community partners, AADSC understands the unique challenges and strengths of individual dental programs across the Area. The NAPPR AADSC’s scope over the next five years will center on two broad goals: (1) providing support, guidance, training, and enhancement for I/T/U dental programs, and (2) ensuring that combined AADSC support and Area dental program services lead to measurable oral health improvements for AI/AN patients. Key activities for AADSC will include facilitating training to promote evidence-based prevention and health-education practices; participating in outreach campaigns and community events to raise awareness of oral health; collaborating with organizations to enhance Oral Health Promotion/Disease Prevention knowledge and best practices; assisting programs to implement and expand prevention activities through funding and national IHS initiatives; and communicating evolving standards of care to strengthen surveillance and advocate for appropriate staffing. This work is anticipated to achieve expected outcomes of supporting quality improvements in oral health status, increasing community awareness and engagement, and encouraging broader adoption of effective Health Promotion/Disease Prevention (HP/DP) practices by promoting evidence-based and best practices. It will also help implement and expand access to prevention programs and activities through various HP/DP funding opportunities, provide local support for national IHS initiatives, and strengthen collaboration with the IHS Area Dental Officer so that staff are trained to conduct surveillance and advocate for dental staffing that meets the Required Resource Methodology and other industry standards, thereby increasing program capacity and oral health care provision.
