A team of University of Iowa Public Policy Center researchers in the Health Policy Research Program has been awarded funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The project, led by Principal Investigator Susan McKernan, public policy researcher and assistant professor of preventive and community dentistry in the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, will explore the integration of oral health and primary care. The team includes co-PI Ray Kuthy, PPC researcher and professor of preventive and community dentistry, and co-investigator Julie Reynolds, PPC researcher and visiting assistant professor in the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics.

The grant, called a Special Interests Project (SIP), is awarded by the Prevention Research Centers program office at the CDC. The CDC provides SIP funding to its 26 Prevention Research Centers nationwide to design, test, and disseminate effective applied public health prevention research strategies that address major causes of disease and disability.

The team will conduct a one-year project to identify best practices for integrating medical and dental care in public health activities and to identify opportunities to include oral health in the ongoing climate of health care reform.