Abstract
BackgroundData on barriers and facilitators to prenatal oral health care among low-income US women are lacking. The objective of this study was to understand barriers/facilitators and patient-centered mitigation strategies related to the use of prenatal oral health care among underserved US women.MethodsWe used community-based participatory research to conduct two focus groups with eight pregnant/parenting women; ten individual in-depth interviews with medical providers, dental providers and community/social workers; and one community engagement studio with five representative community stakeholders in 2018–2019. Using an interpretive description research design, we conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups which were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for thematic content.ResultsWe identified individual and systemic barriers/facilitators to the utilization of prenatal oral health care by underserved US women. Strategies reported to improve utilization included healthcare system-wide changes to promote inter-professional collaborations, innovative educational programs to improve dissemination and implementation of prenatal oral health care guidelines, and specialized dental facilities providing prenatal oral health care to underserved women. Moreover, smartphones have the potential to be an innovative entry point to promote utilization of prenatal oral care at the individual level.ConclusionsLow-income women face multiple, addressable barriers to obtaining oral health care during pregnancy. Inter-professional collaboration holds strong promise for improving prenatal oral health care utilization.
Highlights
Data on barriers and facilitators to prenatal oral health care among low-income US women are lacking
Study design We examined a clinical phenomenon to identify themes and patterns related to reported perceptions of oral health care among underserved women, medical/dental providers and community/social workers
The individual interviews were completed with four social workers, three medical providers, and three dental providers
Summary
Data on barriers and facilitators to prenatal oral health care among low-income US women are lacking. The objective of this study was to understand barriers/facilitators and patient-centered mitigation strategies related to the use of prenatal oral health care among underserved US women. Wang et al BMC Oral Health (2020) 20:333 of general health and should be maintained during pregnancy [5]. Recommendations for prenatal oral health care have been widely disseminated in the US at both the state [6] and national level [7], utilization of prenatal oral health care remains low. Understanding factors that enable or hinder the use of prenatal oral health care is crucial to identify effective strategies to promote and maintain good oral health in pregnant women
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