The Oral Health Knowledge Network (OHKN), a platform initiated by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2018, brings pediatric clinicians together monthly through virtual sessions, fostering learning from experts, sharing valuable resources, and building a network.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health, in 2021, conducted an assessment of the OHKN. The evaluation's mixed-methods strategy incorporated participant online surveys and in-depth qualitative interviews. Concerning their professional duties, past engagements in medical-dental integration, and opinions about the OHKN learning sessions, they were asked to provide information.
Forty-one of the 72 invited program participants (57%) finalized the survey questionnaire, and additionally 11 participated in qualitative interviews. The analysis revealed that engagement in OHKN programs facilitated the incorporation of oral health into primary care settings, benefiting both clinicians and non-clinicians. Medical professionals' incorporation of oral health training, as indicated by 82% of survey respondents, was the most impactful clinical development. In contrast, the acquisition of new knowledge, as reported by 85% of respondents, proved the most influential nonclinical outcome. The qualitative interviews unveiled the participants' previous dedication to medical-dental integration and the impetus behind their present medical-dental integration work.
The OHKN's beneficial effect on pediatric clinicians and nonclinicians was evident, as a learning collaborative. It successfully motivated and educated healthcare professionals, enabling improved access to oral health for their patients via rapid resource sharing and alterations in clinical procedures.
The OHKN demonstrably benefited pediatric clinicians and non-clinicians, effectively functioning as a learning collaborative to educate and motivate healthcare professionals in improving patient access to oral health by rapidly sharing resources and implementing clinical changes.

This postgraduate dental primary care curriculum's inclusion of behavioral health issues, including anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, eating disorders, opioid use disorder, and intimate partner violence, was the subject of this evaluation study.
A sequential mixed-methods approach was our preferred method. Directors of 265 Advanced Education in Graduate Dentistry and General Practice Residency programs were surveyed using a 46-item online questionnaire about the incorporation of behavioral health topics in their courses. The multivariate logistic regression analysis procedure was used to uncover factors connected with the incorporation of this content. We undertook a content analysis, along with interviews of 13 program directors, to pinpoint themes relevant to the topic of inclusion.
The survey garnered responses from 111 program directors, yielding a 42% response rate. Programs that taught residents to identify anxiety, depressive disorders, eating disorders, and intimate partner violence constituted less than 50%, a substantial difference to the 86% of programs that taught the identification of opioid use disorder. EHop-016 chemical structure Eight major themes regarding the behavioral health curriculum's incorporation were derived from interviews: methods for training; the rationale behind those methods; the evaluation of resident learning; the quantification of program success; roadblocks to inclusion; solutions to the identified roadblocks; and considerations for improving the existing program. EHop-016 chemical structure Curriculum elements related to identifying depressive disorders were 91% less prevalent in programs housed in settings featuring low or no integration (odds ratio = 0.009; 95% confidence interval, 0.002-0.047) than in programs located in settings with nearly full integration. Organizational/governmental guidelines and the patient populations' needs were crucial factors in incorporating behavioral health content. EHop-016 chemical structure The organizational environment's prevailing culture and insufficient time availability hindered the inclusion of behavioral health training.
Curricula for general dentistry and general practice residency programs should be augmented with training on behavioral health conditions—anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, eating disorders, and intimate partner violence.
The advanced educational pathways for general dentistry and general practice residency programs require intensified curriculum development to include training on behavioral health conditions, encompassing anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, eating disorders, and intimate partner violence.

Even though there have been strides in scientific knowledge and medical advancements, the evidence shows that health care disparities and inequities continue to be a problem across diverse populations. To promote equitable health outcomes, we must prioritize the education and training of the next generation of healthcare professionals in the domain of social determinants of health (SDOH). This desired outcome relies on educational institutions, communities, and educators embracing a commitment to changing health professions education, striving to develop transformative educational programs that better address the 21st century's public health challenges.
Individuals driven by a shared concern or enthusiasm, engaging in frequent interaction, refine their shared expertise to reach a higher level, creating communities of practice (CoPs). The NCEAS CoP, the National Collaborative for Education to Address Social Determinants of Health, is dedicated to weaving Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) into the required education of health professionals. One way to replicate effective collaboration among health professions educators for transformative health workforce education and development is the NCEAS CoP. The NCEAS CoP will advance health equity by sharing evidence-based models of education and practice, addressing SDOH and building/sustaining a culture of health and well-being through shared models of transformative health professions education.
By building partnerships across communities and professions, our work showcases the potential to widely share innovative curricula and ideas, thereby tackling the systemic inequities that fuel persistent health disparities, moral distress, and burnout among healthcare professionals.
The partnerships we've built across communities and professions in our work exemplify the power of shared innovative curricula and ideas in addressing the systemic inequities that perpetuate health disparities and increase the moral distress and burnout experienced by healthcare professionals.

The well-researched phenomenon of mental health stigma stands as a major impediment to obtaining both mental and physical healthcare. By situating behavioral/mental health care services inside a primary care setting, integrated behavioral health (IBH) may contribute to a reduction in the experience of stigma. This research sought to evaluate the perspectives of patients and healthcare professionals on mental illness stigma as a barrier to involvement in integrated behavioral health (IBH) and to discover methods for decreasing stigma, encouraging discussion about mental health, and augmenting enrollment in IBH care.
In the previous year, 16 patients referred to IBH and 15 healthcare professionals (12 primary care physicians and 3 psychologists) participated in our semi-structured interviews. Two coders independently transcribed and inductively coded interviews, identifying common themes and subthemes under the headings of barriers, facilitators, and recommendations.
Interviews with patients and healthcare professionals yielded ten converging themes, representing important complementary perspectives on hurdles, catalysts, and suggested courses of action. Significant obstacles were encountered, stemming from the stigma held by professionals, families, and the public, as well as individual self-stigma, avoidance behaviors, and the internalization of negative stereotypes. The facilitators and recommendations for discussion of mental health include: the normalization of conversations regarding mental health and mental health care; employing compassionate and patient-centered communication; health care providers sharing their own experiences; and adapting the dialogue to meet individual patient preferences.
Healthcare professionals can foster a reduction in stigma by implementing patient-centered communication, normalizing mental health discussions, promoting professional self-disclosure, and adapting their approach according to each patient's unique comprehension style.
Normalization of mental health discussions, patient-centric communication techniques, professional self-disclosure, and patient-specific approaches to communication can be instrumental for health care professionals in reducing perceived stigma.

A higher proportion of individuals utilize primary care services, in contrast to oral health services. The inclusion of oral health materials within primary care training can consequently augment access to care for a substantial population, thereby leveling the playing field for health equity. For the 100 Million Mouths Campaign (100MMC), 50 state oral health education champions (OHECs) will be developed to successfully incorporate oral health into primary care training programs.
OHECs, representing a diversity of fields and specialties, were recruited and trained in six pilot states (Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, Hawaii, Missouri, and Tennessee) between 2020 and 2021. The 4-hour workshops, spread over two days, and subsequent monthly meetings comprised the training program. Our comprehensive program evaluation included both internal and external assessments of the program's implementation. Post-workshop surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews with OHECs were instrumental in identifying pertinent process and outcome measures related to primary care program engagement.
Survey results from the post-workshop session highlighted the unanimous agreement of all six OHECs that the sessions were beneficial in crafting their next statewide OHEC steps.