Driven by a culture of collaborative, forward-thinking faculty, Slippery Rock University continues to advance impactful, interdisciplinary research. Three SRU faculty members have successfully secured a grant from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health to fund a study examining how adults in the U.S. view the integrated models of medical and dental care.
The project is led by Nikhil Ahuja, assistant professor of public health sciences; Joseph Robare, associate professor of public health sciences; and Amanda Goodrick, associate professor of mathematics, statistics and physics.
CareQuest, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, is funding $49,638.54 for the project. SRU faculty members will collaborate with external consultants Satish Kedia from the University of Memphis School of Public Health and Asos Mahmood from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
According to the researchers, medical and dental care have historically operated in separate systems, despite oral and systemic health being closely related. Poor oral health is connected to chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. This disconnect between oral and systemic care systems can delay treatment, impede prevention services and lead to further health inequity, especially in underserved populations.
“This project is about understanding what people actually want when it comes to accessing their care,” Ahuja said. “Integrated models—such as having medical and dental services in the same clinic, covered under shared insurance or coordinated through value-based care—have the potential to reduce barriers, improve outcomes and make health care more patient-centered. But to design systems that work, we need to know what patients value and prioritize.”
