An interprofessional model of care for oral health during pregnancy

ABSTRACT

The study aim was to appraise the relevance and appropriateness of an interprofessional prenatal oral care model among pregnant women and healthcare providers in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with 39 purposefully selected participants (13 pregnant women and 26 healthcare professionals) were used qualitatively to appraise relevance of an existing model. The existing model emphasizes communication and collaboration among multiple health providers for the delivery of integrated prenatal oral care. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach and N-Vivo® software. During the first round of interviews, most participants considered the existing model as simple and well-defined but not fully relevant to the BC context. The participants suggested revisions to Steven’s model to incorporate facilitators of integrated care, including interprofessional education, oral health funding, and advocacy for oral healthcare. Participants suggested a different graphical portrayal for the revised model; an implementation guide was also suggested. A revised model based on participants’ feedback, was shared with 14 of the initial participants during secondary interviews. Further evaluation of the appropriateness of the revised model is warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• Interprofessional care
• integration
• interprofessional education
• prenatal care
• oral health

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of this article.

Availability of data

The datasets used and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by a grant from the Stollery Charitable Foundation and UBC’s Faculty of Medicine Midwifery Program.

Notes on contributors

A Adeniyi

Abiola Adeniyi - is a trained dentist and PHD Candidate in Craniofacial Science at UBC Dentistry. Her research interests include integrated care and inter professional collaboration for Oral health.

L Donnelly

Leeann Donnelly - Associate Professor at UBC DEntistry and the Community and Special Care Coordinator for the Dental Hygiene Degree Program. Her primary area of research and teaching focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations.

P Janssen

Dr Janssen is a Professor and Co-lead of the Maternal Child Health Theme at the School of Public health and Policy UBC. Her research interests include prediction and prevention of cesarean birth among healthy women, diagnosis and management of dystocia, management of early labour, and outcomes and costs associated with differing models of maternity care delivery .

C Jevitt

Cecilia Jevitt is an Associate professor and director of the midwifery program at UBC Medicine. Her research focuses on weight management and obesity prevention in pregnancy and women's health.

Hc Von Bergmann

Dr vonBergmann is a professor of dental education at UBC dentistry. Her research interest include assessments, PBL,Teacher Beliefs & Identity, Online Teaching and Learning and Professionalism.

M Brondani

Dr Brondani is a trained dentist and an associate professor in dental public health at UBC dentistry. His research interest include dental geriatrics, models for oral health health access to care for marginalized and vulnerable populations and dental education.