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Oral Health Knowledge, Practices, and Awareness of Oral Health Guidelines and Dental Coverage Policies among Midwives
Author(s) -
Naavaal Shillpa,
Claiborne Denise M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1111/jmwh.13191
Subject(s) - medicine , medicaid , family medicine , oral health , receipt , prenatal care , health care , nursing , environmental health , population , world wide web , computer science , economics , economic growth
Good oral health during the prenatal period translates into better oral and overall health for women and their infants. Although the importance of oral health during pregnancy is well established, oral health assessments are not routinely included in prenatal care visits. The purpose of this study was to explore prenatal care providers’ practices regarding oral health assessments and identify reasons for the gap in oral health integration in prenatal care. Data were gathered from midwives in Virginia, United States. Information on midwives’ knowledge about oral health, education, practices, and awareness of oral health guidelines and the pregnancy‐related Medicaid dental benefit policy in Virginia was collected. Methods An online survey was distributed to midwives practicing in Virginia through their state‐level professional organization. The data were collected online, and descriptive data analyses were conducted. Results A total of 30 midwives (mean age 51.9 years) participated in the survey for an overall response rate of 13.6%. Among survey participants, knowledge of oral health was high (score of 4.69 out of 5). Nearly 20% of participants reported receiving no education about oral health during professional training, and 72.4% reported no receipt of continuing education about oral health in the past year. Although 86% of the participants reported discussing oral health in clinical practice, only 10.3% reported conducting oral health assessments. Awareness of Virginia's Medicaid dental benefit policy was high (75.9%), but less than half of the participants were aware of oral health guidelines (44.1%). Although many midwives did not conduct oral health assessments, 79.3% reported that they provided oral health referrals to pregnant patients. Discussion Enhancing and integrating education about oral health in the academic curriculum for midwives and providing them with opportunities for continuing education about oral health can improve their engagement with oral health. Sharing of evidence‐based guidelines through organizational newsletters, meetings, and other venues can be ways to increase awareness of new guidelines and health coverage benefits among midwives.