1509-10483

Support to the Critical Learning Systems, Inc. to plan, develop, implement, and disseminate a comprehensive Oral Health Needs Index (OHNI) that will assess oral health needs of communities in Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. The OHNI will use population-level data and other health, policy, and social determinant of health data from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System and the County Health Rankings and other existing data sets to translate that data into an index for advocates and stakeholders to use to build the case for improved health for minority populations. Beginning with disaggregated data from the Southern Region of the United States, the proposed project will aim to produce a methodology that can be replicated in communities across the country as a means of visibly delineating pockets of oral health disparities. Specific systems outcome to be addressed is the development of an oral health measurement system. $284,032 will support consultant services, website development, and convening capacity necessary to develop and disseminate this tool. The proposed project aligns with the Oral Health 2020 goal of improving the public perception of the value of oral heath to overall health and the target that by 2020, oral health is increasingly included in the health dialogue and public policy.