Workflow Optimization for School-based Preventive Oral Health Services Delivery

Renewal: Workflow Optimization of School-Based Preventive Oral Health Services Delivery Project Summary/Abstract: Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, with approximately half of children aged 6-9 already experiencing decay. It also impacts children from families with lower incomes at higher rates than the rest of the population. Two evidence-based preventive oral health services (POHS) that can effectively be applied in school settings are fluoride varnish (FV) and dental sealants. However, resources are lacking to determine the optimal workflow for school-based sealant programs and even more so for school-based FV programs, which contributes to the strain on resources for these programs and limits the number of students receiving effective POHS. Inefficiencies in workflow also contribute to students missing more instructional time than necessary when receiving services. The goal of this project is to improve workflow efficiency for school-based POHS delivery, allowing more students to receive preventive care with limited program resources and with minimal time out of the classroom. The first Aim is to gather and assess comprehensive data on the time, costs, and workflow involved in POHS delivery within schools in the state of Georgia. This Aim will include time study and workflow analysis of data collected from partner programs of a variety of characteristics. The second Aim is to assess barriers and facilitators to SBPOHS delivery. Through semi-structured interviews, it will accrue stakeholders’ insights to better understand the barriers and facilitators to SBPOHS delivery, with a particular focus on obstacles to process flow. The third Aim is to optimize school-based POHS workflow for different combinations of factors. Employing statistical analysis, simulation, and mathematical modeling, the Aim will establish how to minimize time and costs under the influence of variability. The specificity of these time and cost estimates will help both in program planning and in communication with stakeholders and funding sources. The research contribution will be a set of best practices for more efficient school-based delivery of POHS and estimates of costs and resources related to that workflow. These will be widely disseminated and freely accessible to school-based POHS programs, which will speed progress toward more widespread delivery of these effective services. Project Number: 2R15DE031428-02 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) | Principal Investigator: Christina Scherrer | Institution: KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY, KENNESAW, GA | Award Amount: $555,081 | Activity Code: R15 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 HSS-G (90)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11292043