1802-13891

The purpose of this grant is to continue to build the capacity of healthcare consumers in Florida to meaningfully engage in policy and systems change; to improve the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health; to enhance collaborative, cross-blade infrastructure processes, shared power, and decision-making; and to elevate health equity and social justice approaches within the Oral Health 2020 Network that are fully informed by, and reflective of, community voices. The work in this proposal will largely build on key successes last year, such as building a network of 20 local oral health champions that all activated to lead local "mini-movements", deepening the role of high school aged youth as change agents through community assessments and photovoice, hosting Oral Health Equity Fellowships that guided Fellows through oral health and social justice training, hosting a broad array of social media and marketing campaigns reaching thousands of people, engaging in state-level policy advocacy around new workforce models and dental student loan repayment programs, and engaging in advocacy to prevent changes to federal healthcare policies such as the ACA and Medicaid. In the current proposal, the work will more specifically include implementation of countywide oral health messaging models, deepening relationships with local and state level policy champions, connecting grassroots community members to those policy champions, expanding the Oral Health Fellowship program and youth empowerment program, engaging community leaders at MOM clinics to gather critical consciousness of the oral health needs, and work to build a partnership with the Oral Health Consumer Advisory Council. This aligns with the OH2020 goal of shifting the public perception of oral health with a target of increasing oral health in overall health dialogue and in public policy. The budget for this proposal is $100,800 and is primarily to support staff time, travel and resources necessary to deepen community connections. This includes a budget line for stipends for community members.