Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Health Administration

College

College of Health Professions

First Advisor

Walter J. Jones

Second Advisor

Kit N. Simpson

Third Advisor

Amy Brock Martin

Fourth Advisor

James S Zoller

Abstract

Poor oral health and periodontal disease are related to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, immune disorders, and oral cancer – all of which are ultimately related to premature mortality. In 2008, Florida was ranked as one of the worst state for dental care in the United States. Given the lack of accessibility to dental care, the emergency department (ED) has evolved to serve as a “catch basin” to provide pediatric patients with routine dental treatment. As a result, to enable the provision of dental care and improve pediatric dental health outcomes, Florida introduced a Statewide Medicaid managed care system (SMMC) in 2011. This thesis aimed to describe emergency department usage trends that may serve as an indicator of whether the SMMC program introduced in 2011 positively affected pediatric dental ED use. A retrospective analysis was performed from 2011-2014 to identify trends in pediatric ED usage for the treatment of dental caries, pulp and periodontal disease in the state of Florida. Study findings demonstrated that there were trends for increased utilization of the ED following the introduction of the SMMC program, suggesting that the SMMC did not provide a solution to curb ED usage for the provision of dental care.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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