Improving America's access to care: The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research addresses oral health disparities.
BACKGROUND
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, or NIDCR, in 2001 sponsored the establishment of Centers for Research to Reduce Oral Health Disparities. The centers are based at Boston University; New York University; the University of Michigan; the University of Washington; and the University of California, San Francisco. Reflecting the importance of research to reduce disparities, the centers, along with related grants, represent one of the largest financial commitments ever made by the NIDCR. The centers are sponsored in part by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, or NCMHHD. Each of the five centers has forged partnerships that include ties with dental societies, state and local health agencies, community and migrant health centers, American Indian tribal nations and institutions that serve other diverse patient populations.


CONCLUSIONS
This network is attempting to address the needs of communities with poor oral health. A major part of the effort of these new centers is to build community networks and establish long-term relationships. Center investigators also recognize that solutions to these vexing problems must be built on an understanding of the social, economic, racial, educational, political and behavioral factors that affect most health care issues.
Milgrom
Peter
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Department of Dental Public Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7475, USA. dfrc@u.washington.edu
Garcia
Raul I
RI
Ismail
Amid
A
Katz
Ralph V
RV
Weintraub
Jane A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001900:Boston; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019058:Community Networks; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D018865:Dental Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D008913:Minority Groups; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D009518:New York; D012495:San Francisco; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D014861:Washington