Seed Grants

Amanda Roesch, DNP, MPH, FNP-C (SON) received a $15,000 seed grant for Enhancing Interprofessional Student Competence in Caring for Transgender and Gender Diverse Populations through Simulation. The contributing faculty and staff include Veronica Quattrini, DNP, MS, FNP-BC (SON), Norman Retener, MD (SOM), and Philip Dittmar, MD (SOM). As transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals have limited access to quality health care as many health care providers lack the knowledge and comfort to care for this population. Using a team-based approach, Enhancing Interprofessional Student Competence in Caring for Transgender and Gender Diverse Populations through Simulation will prepare advanced practice nurse and medical students to care for the TGD population through an online module on TGD health and an interdisciplinary formative clinical encounter with a TGD standardized patient. Learners’ TGD-related comfort, skills, and attitudes will be evaluated before and after the experience using a survey with the expectation that participation will improve students’ competence in caring for the TGD population. To learn more contact Dr. Roesch at amanda.roesch@umaryland.edu.

Stephanie Dennison, DDS, FAGD (SOD) received a $12,640 seed grant for A Team-Based Approach to Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Formal Integration of the Dental Provider into the Sleep Medicine Team at UMB. The contributing faculty include Monsterrat Diaz-Abad, MD (SOM). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder that accounts for over 80% of sleep-disordered breathing diagnoses in the U.S.¹ It is estimated to affect 22% of men and 17% of women.² OSA is associated with a vast range of poor health outcomes, including but not limited to stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) or "mini stroke", ^3-5 cardiovascular disease,⁵ type 2 diabetes,⁶ cognitive impairment,⁷ and psychiatric disorders.⁸ Despite the prevalence, significant health implications, and public health burden of OSA, it remains grossly underdiagnosed.⁹ Dentists have expertise in oral cavity examination and frequently see their patients yearly. Because of this, they have a unique opportunity to screen for many risk factors and symptoms associated with obstructive sleep apnea. By clinical examination of the oral cavity, dentists can screen for many anatomic risk factors of OSA, such as macroglossia and retrognathia¹⁰. By reviewing medical history and completing OSA screenings, for example, the STOP-BANG questionnaire, one of the most widely accepted screening tools for OSA, dentists can also screen for many health consequences and symptoms of OSA. Furthermore, dentists play an essential role in the treatment of OSA patients by way of oral appliance therapy when it is indicated. Currently, the University of Maryland School of Dentistry has no protocol to screen for and properly refer patients at risk for obstructive sleep apnea. There is also no formal protocol in place for the University of Maryland School of Medicine to refer OSA patients eligible for dental oral appliance therapy to the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. This initiative aims to develop, implement, and support over time such protocols as well as develop academic and clinical curricula to teach these protocols to students and faculty of the UMSOD and UMSOM. To learn more contact Dr. Dennison at sdennison1@umaryland.edu.

FolaSade Osotimehin, PharmD (SOP) has received a $20,000 seed grant for Improving healthcare quality through interprofessional collaboration: Setting the stage through interprofessional education. The contributing faculty were Byron Ma, PharmD (SOP) and Jane Schindler, LCSW-C, APHSW-C, BC-THM (SSW). Improvement in the quadruple aim; healthcare outcomes, decreased healthcare cost, and improved patient and provider satisfaction are well documented with interprofessional team-based care delivery models. The benefits of Telehealth as a means of healthcare delivery were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic with the requirement for social distancing to curb the spread of the virus. Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) play a huge role in patient clinical outcomes and this interprofessional education initiative was created to train students from the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy and School of Social Work, on the development of an interprofessional identity and ability to address medication-related and SDoH barriers collaboratively to promote optimal health outcomes with delivery via Telehealth. To learn more contact Dr. Osotimehin at fosotimehin@rx.umaryland.edu.

Yonette Simpson, RDH, MS (SOD) received a $20,000 seed grant for Building a culture of belonging through diversity and inclusion (D & I) training for dental hygiene and Family Doctor of Nursing Provider (DNP) students at The Universities at Shady Grove campus. Contributing faculty include Bridgitte Gourley, DNP, FNP-DC (SON) and Lisa E. Bress, RDH, MS (SOD). Covid 19 has forced healthcare providers to confront the shortcomings of the United States healthcare system, including the widening gap between communities who have ample access to healthcare compared to populations that are underserved or mis-served. Misinformation and a lack of trust concerning healthcare recommendations have been a consistent theme in the news and on social media throughout this worldwide crisis. Importantly, correcting these inaccuracies and reaching underserved communities will require effective communication techniques for disseminating evidence-based oral and overall health. Diversity and inclusion training that includes applying effective communication techniques to simulated patient-provider scenarios impacted by structural racism and implicit bias could benefit healthcare teams inside and outside dentistry. Building a culture of belonging among oral health professionals’ exploration of their own biases could address health inequities that plague communities most affected by structural racism and bias. To learn more contact Simpson at ysimpson1@umaryland.edu.

Health Equity Seed Grants

Amy Kruger Howard, PharmD, MS (SOP) received a $25,000 seed grant for Press *9 to Hear Options in Other Languages - Investigating Application of Interpretation Best Practices. Contributing faculty and staff members include Sandra M. Quezada, MD, MS (SOM), Laura Koo, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC (SON), and Jill A. Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS (SOP). Press *9 to Hear Options in Other Languages - Investigating Application of Interpretation Best Practices aims to use an interprofessional education (IPE) team of students to create a guide to applying best practices when working with interpreter services to engage patients with limited English proficiency (LEP).  Students will perform key informant interviews with medical interpreters, care providers, and patients that speak languages other than English to determine their experiences with communication and care access. Students will then take the information gained from the interview theme analysis, together with literature on implementing the standards of care, to develop an educational resource for students preparing to work with patients. To learn more, please contact Dr. Howard at akhoward@rx.umaryland.edu.

Lisa Bress, RDH, MS (SOD) received a $25,000 seed grant for Building a Culture of Belonging through Diversity and Inclusion Training for Dental, Dental Hygiene, Law and Social Work Students. Contributing faculty and staff members include Kathleen Hoke, JD (SOL), Everett Smith Jr., C LMSW (SSW), and Mona Gorman, DDS (SOD). Building a Culture of Belonging through Diversity and Inclusion Training for Dental, Dental Hygiene, Law and Social Work Students is designed to improve interprofessional education by teaching teams of professional students culturally competent and effective communication techniques as an element of team-based care. This educational program will increase students’ awareness of their personal biases as well as potential for system-based biases and prepare them to effectively manage bias and discriminatory behaviors directed at them by patients/clients and how to implement culturally/racially competent communications across interprofessional teams and systems to support patients/clients. To learn more, please contact Ms. Bress at lbress@umaryland.edu.