Purpose: A nurse-led rural practice, Archer Family Health Care, established a partnership with the University of Florida College of Dentistry to improve access to dental care for underserved rural populations. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of this partnership on dental care access and identify perceived barriers patients' experience in this rural community.
Methods: A qualitative design was used to evaluate if this partnership improved access to dental care and identify care barriers existing in this population. Outcome measures were 1) completed dental visits and 2) a qualitative analysis of patients' perceived barriers to accessing care if they did not complete their dental appointment.
Results: As a result of this partnership, 118 direct dental referrals were placed. From those referrals, 45 (38%) patients completed their dental appointments, and 73 (62%) patients did not. Twenty-five patients provided a rationale for not presenting for their appointment. Cited barriers included cost (32%), time (24%), frustration with the referral process (20%), obtaining care at an alternate dental location (12%), fear (7%), and transportation issues (4%).
Conclusion: This project suggests that specific interventions may increase opportunities for dental care in rural areas however barriers continue to exist that may impact that access.
Keywords: access to dental care; collaboration; partnership; rural; underserved.
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