title: Innovations in oral health: A toolkit for interprofessional education.
abstract: The integration of oral health competencies into non-dental health professions curricula can serve as an effective driver for interprofessional education (IPE). The purpose of this report is to describe a replicable oral-health-driven IPE model and corresponding online toolkit, both of which were developed as part of the Innovations in Oral Health (IOH): Technology, Instruction, Practice, and Service programme at Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, USA. Tooth decay is a largely preventable disease that is connected to overall health and wellness, and it affects the majority of adults and a fifth of children in the United States. To prepare all health professionals to address this problem, the IOH model couples programming from the online resource Smiles for Life: A National Oral Health Curriculum with experiential learning opportunities designed for undergraduate and graduate students that include simulation-learning (technology), hands-on workshops and didactic sessions (instruction), and opportunities for both cooperative education (practice) and community-based learning (service). The IOH Toolkit provides the means for others to replicate portions of the IOH model or to establish a large-scale IPE initiative that will support the creation of an interprofessional workforce-one equipped with oral health competencies and ready for collaborative practice.
authors.affiliation: a School of Nursing , Northeastern University , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dolce
authors.affiliation: b Bouvé College of Health Sciences , Northeastern University , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: c Propensity LLC , Fairfax , Virginia , USA.
authors.forename: Debra T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Werrlein
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D009909:Oral Health / Q000193:education*
keywords: Interprofessional education; oral health; primary care; teamwork; toolkit