Stuart Gansky, DrPH, MSA multidisciplinary oral health initiative in which the School of Dentistry’s Stuart Gansky, DrPH, MS, is a principal investigator, is launching a test project in Los Angeles as part of its NIH-funded trial.
The BEhavioral EConomics for Oral health iNnovation (BEECON) trial (UH3DE025514), funded at over $3.5 million over three years by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, will test various incentives that promote caregiver behaviors to prevent caries in young children and evaluate cost-effectiveness of the intervention. The project will enroll underserved, low-income Hispanic/Latino families with children 0-5 years of age in Early Head Start and affiliated preschool and day care sites in Los Angeles County.
Dr. Gansky is working on this transdisciplinary research effort with Francisco Ramos-Gomez, DDS, MS, MPH, of the UCLA School of Dentistry, and James Kahn, MD, MPH, UCSF professor of global health economic sciences. Dr. Gansky, Lee Hysan Chair of oral epidemiology, is the director of UCSF’s Center to Address Disparities in Oral Health (CAN DO); Dr. Ramos-Gomez also is on the CAN DO team.
This competitive three-year award is one of four research cooperative agreements awarded nationally out of 10 original projects by NIDCR, a component of the National Institutes of Health, aimed at eliminating inequities in access to care and improving the oral health of children. The awards support the projects comprising NIDCR’s Multidisciplinary and Collaborative Research Consortium to Reduce Oral Health Disparities in Children.
The test phase of BEECON follows a two-year developmental phase and feasibility and acceptability pilot trial.
Related Links:
UCLA Dentistry: NIH Awards Over $3.5 Million to Study Increasing Parent Oral Health Habits to Prevent Children's Tooth Decay
About BEECON: NIDCR Oral Health Disparities and Inequities Research Consortium
