Hispanic Dental Association
2 Talon Ct.
Sewell, DC
United States
The Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) seeks to be the leading voice for Hispanic oral health, providing education, research, advocacy and leadership for all healthcare professionals in order to promote the overall health of Hispanic and Latinx communities.
HDA has been a funded partner of CareQuest Institute since 2009, and is one of several partners funded by CareQuest Institute in an effort to rebalance power and increase diversity in the dental profession. In 2021, the HDA approached CareQuest Institute with a funding request to perform a comprehensive scoping review, or landscape assessment, of the oral health status, dental needs, utilization of dental services, and workforce addressing the needs of Hispanics in the U.S. Also included in that request was a robust dissemination and communications plan for the products of this research and data analysis. The goal of this project is to bolster the HDA’s capacity and infrastructure to become the go-to resource for oral health data and leadership regarding the Hispanic & Latinx population.
In 2021, the CareQuest Institute Grant Review committee recommended a phased approach for the partnership. By the end of December 2022, HDA had produced the intended scoping review, taking the form of a Gallery Report and White Paper These products are currently going through a final review and design process with CareQuest Institute’s Analytics & Data Insights (ADI) and Marketing & Communications teams. The reports shed light on the unique oral health needs of the multi-ethnic Hispanic & Latinx population, provides an overview of both available and inaccessible oral health data regarding this population, and provides preliminary policy recommendations regarding the access issues identified in the report. of the These data reports are already being “previewed” within the oral health field and abstracts based on this project have been accepted for conference presentations at national and international oral health conferences. HDA’s team members have secured presentation spots at National Oral Health Conference (NOHC), International Association of Dental Research (IADR), American Public Health Association Meeting (APHA), and American Dental Association Meeting (Smilecon) related to the existing reports. CareQuest Institute team-members have also been invited to co-present some of the findings.
In 2023, the Hispanic Dental Association is seeking funding to support phases 4 and 5 of the project. This involves large-scale dissemination of the Gallery and White Paper Report, while simultaneously performing a slate of secondary analysis in collaboration with CareQuest Institute’s ADI team. Additionally, HDA will develop an Advocacy Action Plan based on the findings of these analyses.
HDA plans to complete secondary data analysis in the topic areas of quality and innovation of services in oral health settings, minority access to community water systems, health literacy assessments, access to care including Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans health care programs, and Dental Workforce mapping in the ten states with the highest level of Hispanic and LatinX populations. HDA shares that both the initial products and secondary analysis will be relevant to dental workforce planning at the national and state level, the insurance market increasing scope and options of dental services, water fluoridation policy, and Medicaid and Medicare policy. They also anticipate the data and research can inform dental curriculum improvement related to cultural competencies, dental shortage areas, and can inform strategies to increase Hispanic and LatinX dental providers.
The budget for this project represents 31% of the organization’s overall budget. The request budget includes $200,000 allocated toward staff time for principal investigators, and $55,000 for travel expenses to meetings in order to disseminate the report's findings.