2008 Chapter Projects

1. Pediatric Oral Health Project:
Funded by the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation, this project will allow the Chapter to improve children’s oral health through promoting oral health risk assessment by pediatricians; development of oral health training and educational materials and opportunities for hands-on training for pediatricians; assisting the MS Oral Health Community Alliance in establishing its 501c3 Non-Profit status; utilizing research information from the Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center to understand the oral health status of children in the Mississippi Delta; and funding targeted intervention projects for young children in the Mississippi Delta.

This project made possible by a generous grant from the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation (DTAF). The DTAF is a 501(c )(3) organization dedicated to the mission of promoting Access to Oral Health Care by funding research projects, resources for professional standards and productivity, and most importantly outreach and education for communities at risk. For more information about the DTAF, please email mailto:info@dtafoundation.org.


Moving Forward by Giving Back

2. Provider Education through the Mississippi Healthy Baby Update:
Generous funding from the Mississippi Chapter of the March of Dimes will allow the Chapter to continue publication of its clinical publication, the Mississippi Healthy Baby Update, currently in its 24th year of publication. Three paper issues of this publication will be produced, and the final issue of the Update will be in electronic format. To be added to our mailing list for this publication, send your email address to msaap@integrity.com.

3. Strategies for System Change in Children’s Mental Health:
The American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Mental Health has generously awarded funding to the Chapter to assist us in working with mental health providers in the central MS area to improve coordination of services for children and the communication between providers. The AAP’s Mental Health Chapter Action Kit will provide strategies to assist. Assessment of the current service environment, continuing education for pediatricians, and increasing and improving communications between pediatricians and mental health providers will be strategies employed in this project.