G-2210-17627

The Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) is one of the oldest dental schools in the nation and has been committed to providing oral health care to thousands each year as well as conducting innovative research to shape the dental profession.

This grant proposal is the first that CareQuest Institute has received from the university. While the organization is new to the CareQuest Institute grant portfolio, IUSD has expertise in developing a community-centered curriculum, academic resources necessary to conduct a project of this scope and nature, and a clearly stated commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive educational environment that aligns with this project’s goals to promote health and racial equity. As the only dental school in Indiana, IUSD’s work in this area of health equity has the potential to set a precedent for other dental schools to follow and successful implementation of this project could pave the way for similar initiatives in dental schools nationwide.

This proposal falls under the Advancing Equity through Oral Health portfolio and is aligned with CareQuest Institute’s strategic priorities of transforming the oral health workforce and supporting meaningful engagement of historically marginalized populations to create and sustain systems change. The IUSD team leading this work will conduct a three-phased curriculum evaluation project: 1) Curriculum Mapping and Gap Analysis, 2) Implementation and Evaluation, and 3) Dissemination of Results. During these phases, IUSD will work closely with its organizational partners to assess student knowledge, conduct stakeholder interviews that inform the curriculum’s needs, and share the project’s results and learnings to other professionals and oral health stakeholders. Ultimately, this work will inform an updated, culturally responsive, and sensitive curriculum and result in a template for others to leverage.

IUSD has strong connections with the local community, specifically LGBTQ+ supportive organizations, and will directly involve the LGBTQ+ community on and off the campus, as both members of the research team and to share their experiences with dental students during the ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) sessions. Given Indiana’s current political atmosphere, there is also an even greater need to ensure that providers can develop, improve on, and share soft skills aimed at improving patient experience.

IUSD’s project will not only influence the curriculum for its pre-doctoral students but also result in the development and dissemination of several products for the broader benefit of the oral health field. The products to be developed include a Culturally Competent Curriculum Blueprint that integrates cultural competency training with a specific focus on LGBTQ+ oral health. The Blueprint will include an outline of key curriculum components, recommended changes, and methodologies for integration and evaluating new content. Additionally, there are ECHO sessions designed to improve knowledge, attitudes, and comfort levels among dental practitioners that will be compiled and refined, taking on the form of either an online course, a webinar series, or a downloadable training module to be adapted by other institutions.

This requested amount for this proposal is $118,068, which amounts to less than 1% of IUSD’s overall budget. Grant funding from CareQuest Institute will be used to cover staff salaries, publications, two partner organizations consulting on the project, and project materials and supplies. In addition to grant funding from CareQuest Institute, IUSD employs a cost share where the university also commits funding to the project and the project team has also been notified that another proposal for additional funding, from the Queer Philanthropy Group from IU’s Alumni Foundation, has been accepted. Overall, the scope of work outlined in this project seems feasible and meaningful for IUSD and dental schools more broadly, therefore this proposal is being recommended for funding at the requested amount.