Oral Health Alert


National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center

This and past issues of the Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start are available online at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/archives.html.

September 2007

  1. Child Health USA 2006 (report)
  2. Dental Coverage and Care for Low-Income Children: The Role of Medicaid and SCHIP (fact sheet)
  3. Early Head Start/Head Start/Territorial Oral Health Forums: Michigan Final Report (report)
  4. PRISM -- A Privacy Toolkit for Public Health Professionals (toolkit)
  5. Effects of the State Children's Health Insurance Program on Access to Dental Care and Use of Dental Services (journal article)

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1. Child Health USA 2006

This annual report documents the health status and service needs of the target population of  infants, children, adolescents, children with special health care needs, and women of childbearing age. The report presents data for more than 50 health status and health care indicators, provides both graphical and textual summaries of data, and addresses long-term trends. The first section, Population Characteristics, presents statistics on factors (including poverty, education, and child care) that influence children's well-being. The second section, Health Status, includes statistics and information on children's health status, including their oral health status. The third section, Health Services Financing and Utilization, contains data on financing and policies, including oral health financing and policies. The final sections, State Data and City Data, contain information on selected indicators at state and city levels.  [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Contact: HRSA Information Center, P.O. Box 2910, Merrifield, VA 22116. Telephone: (888) ASK-HRSA (275-4772), (877) 489-4772; fax: (703) 821-2098; e-mail: ask@hrsa.gov; Web site: http://www.ask.hrsa.gov. Document code: MCH00225. Available at no charge; also available at no charge from the Web site at ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/mchb/chusa_06/c06.pdf.

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2. Dental Coverage and Care for Low-Income Children: The Role of Medicaid and SCHIP

This fact sheet provides an overview of oral health care access and coverage for children from families with low incomes. Topics include the importance of oral health care for children, disparities in children's oral disease and care, coverage for oral health care in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and initiatives to increase access to oral health care for children. Statistical data is presented in a series of graphs.

Contact: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 1330 G Street, N.W., Suite 250, Washington, DC 20005. Telephone: (202) 347-5270; fax: (202) 347-5274; e-mail: kcmu@kff.org; Web site: http://www.kff.org/about/kcmu.cfm. Available at no charge from the Web site at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7681.pdf.

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3. Early Head Start/Head Start/Territorial Oral Health Forums: Michigan Final Report

This report summarizes the proceedings of an oral health forum held on May 14, 2004, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, sponsored by the Head Start-State Collaboration Program, the Michigan Department of Community Health, and the Michigan Head Start Association. Participants included Head Start program staff, public and private oral health program staff, parent advocates, and representatives of the medical community. Contents include breakout session outcomes and recommendations, the planning committee, the planning meeting agenda, a flyer announcing the forum, and the forum registration form and agenda. Information about efforts to integrate recommended strategies in the areas of prevention, behavior and education, access, and pediatric care and the medical-dental connection into the Michigan State Oral Health Plan is also included.

Contact: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, Georgetown University Box 571272, Washington, DC 20057-1272; Telephone: (202) 784-9771; Fax: (202) 784-9777; E-mail: info@mchoralhealth.org; Web site: http://www.mchoralhealth.org; Available at no charge from the Web site at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/MIHSOHForumRpt.pdf.

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4. PRISM -- A Privacy Toolkit for Public Health Professionals

This toolkit is designed to provide direction for government health entities in applying Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy regulations to their programs and functions and also in complying with state and federal requirements. The toolkit identifies and defines the baseline conditions and requirements that a state or local government health program must follow when using and disclosing specific types of health information. A series of tables outlines different types and purposes of information use and disclosure and the general legal requirements relevant to each type of use or disclosure. An introduction to the PRISM privacy tool; a glossary containing key definitions and terms related to the disclosure of privacy information; and additional federal government, association, nonprofit organization, and academic resources are provided.

Contact: Anna Orlova. Public Health Data Standards Consortium, c/o Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Room 325, Baltimore, MD 21205. Telephone: (410) 614-3463; fax: (410) 614-3097; e-mail: aorlova@jhsph.edu; Web site: http://www.phdsc.org.  Available at no charge from the Web site at http://www.phdsc.org/prism/introduction.htm.

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5. Effects of the State Children's Health Insurance Program on Access to Dental Care and Use of Dental Services

This study provides a national estimate of the effects of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on oral health care access and use for children from families with low incomes. Two analyses were conducted. The first estimated the effect of SCHIP availability on access to and use of oral health care services. The second estimated the effect of public insurance (SCHIP or Medicaid) on access to and use of oral health care services. The authors found that, for children from families with low incomes, being enrolled in SCHIP significantly lowered their chances of experiencing a financial barrier to accessing needed oral health care. In addition, children enrolled in SCHIP or Medicaid were much more likely to report having had a dental visit in the past 6 or 12 months, compared with their uninsured counterparts.

Wang H, Norton EC, Rozier RG. 2007. HSR: Health Services Research 42(4):1544-1563. Abstract available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00699.x.

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Subscribe, update information, or unsubscribe to the Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/index.html.

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The Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start is administered by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) at Georgetown University.

This publication is made possible by grant number HIFMC06348 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This funding is part of an intra-agency agreement between the Office of Head Start (OHS); Administration for Children and Families (ACF); and MCHB, HRSA. The publication's contents are the responsibility of solely the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of or imply endorsement by ACF, DHHS, Georgetown University, HRSA, MCHB, OHS, or OHRC.

Permission is given to forward Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start, in its entirety, to others. For all other uses, requests for permission to duplicate and use all or part of the information contained in this publication should be sent to the address below.

We welcome your submissions, suggestions, and questions. Please contact us at the address below.

Managing Editor: Katrina Holt, M.P.H., M.S., R.D.
Writer/Administrator: Jolene Bertness, M.Ed.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A.

Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start
National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center
Georgetown University
Box 571272
Washington, DC 20057-1272
Phone: (202) 784-9771
Fax: (202) 784-9777
E-mail: OHAlertadmin@mchoralhealth.org
Internet: http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/index.html

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