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0 8 4 <br /> trO" vW1 <br /> PROBLEM/CONCERN: • <br /> A dental screening/referral project was developed as a joint effort between <br /> the Orange County Health Department school nurses and supervised dental hygiene <br /> students from the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry. With parental <br /> permission, children in grades K, 2, 4 and 6 of the local public schools were <br /> screened. Children needing dental treatments were referred for care. Up to 1981, <br /> the school nurses were solely responsible for follow-up of referred children, but <br /> other duties often precluded adequate time for follow-up. In 1982, the UNC dental <br /> hygiene students began working in teams with school nurses to provide follow-up <br /> of dental referrals. The results of this collaborative effort was an increase in <br /> the compliance rate for securing dental health care of referred children. The <br /> compliance rate increased from 51% in 1981 to 77% in 1984 among the targeted <br /> schools. In addition to the benefits to children, the dental hygiene students <br /> received a valuable community experience and the school nurses were able to assure <br /> adequate and timely follow-up of referrals without sacrificing time from other <br /> school health activities. The program continues to date and has incurred no <br /> extraordinary costs. <br /> SOLUTION: - <br /> - The Orange County Health Department's School Health Coordinator met Ifith the UNC-CH <br /> Dental Hygiene Student Supervisor to design a plan that would involve the dental hygiene <br /> students in the follow-up component of the dental screening/referral, program. It was <br /> believed that the joint efforts of the public health nurse teamed with a. dental hygiene <br /> student in following up referrals would increase the number of children obtaining needed <br /> dental care. <br /> In 1982, dental hygiene students were assigned to-public health nurses to work on <br /> follow-up for three hours/week for 6 weeks. The number of students and the times assigned <br /> for follow-up are arranged each year by the School Health Coordinator and the Student <br /> Supervisor' in the Dental School. <br /> The criteria for determining which schools receive a rrarse-student team are the <br /> numbers of children referred and low compliance rates from the predeeding year. Com- <br /> pliance rate is defined as the number of children who have obtained care divided by the <br /> number of children referred. Obtained care has been recorded as a child having an appoint- <br /> ment with a dentist. <br /> - : <br /> • <br />