Daniel M. Saman Bost Scholarship: Understanding oral health disparties in Appalachia

The broad, long-term objectives of this proposed research project are to assess the oral health status of the Appalachian region, identify factors that contribute to oral health disparities within Appalachia, and determine innovative strategies (e.g., policy-, education-, prevention-based) to address the oral health needs in the Appalachian region, particularly in economically distressed counties. The specific aims of this research project include: 1) determining correlates of oral health status and outcomes in the Appalachian region using geospatial (ArcGIS 9.3) and statistical (SAS 9.1) regression analyses; 2) identifying highllow clusters of regions within Appalachia with poorer oral health using geospatial and statistical processes; 3) determining correlates of dentists' practice location using geospatial and statistical processes; 4) performing a multilevel hierarchical analysis to determine the influences of higher-level variables on several oral health variables using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data; 5) and identifying innovative strategies that have been successful in improving oral health outcomes in other regions.