Impact Brief June 2021

NACDD, in collaboration with the North Dakota (ND) Department of Health and its partners, convened a virtual State Engagement Meeting (vStEM) on May 6-7, 2021, that more than 60 participants attended via Zoom. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together key partners from across the state to  identify strategies for implementation and foster partnerships that will lead to oral health services’ increased availability and accessibility as well as increased utilization of oral health services among Medicaid-eligible children and adults.

This is the first time that NACDD’s successful StEM framework has been used to address an oral health-focused topic. Since 2012, NACDD has used the StEM framework in states to address issues related to scaling and sustaining the National Diabetes Prevention Program. In 2019 the framework was adapted to address other chronic disease-related issues, such as physical activity and nutrition and colorectal cancer screening.

NACDD worked with the ND Oral Health Program and a small group of external partners for 15 months to plan what was originally intended to be an in-person meeting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held virtually. NACDD is pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the ND Department of Health and its partners to develop strategies for addressing health equity and uptake of oral health services among Medicaid recipients in North Dakota.

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