Public Health Issue - Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Studying Oral Health Care in HaitiBy Rishi Popat, PD09, General Dentistry (DMSc 2014, Orthodontics, Leadership Track)When a 7.3 magnitude earthquake destroyedHaiti’s infrastructure on January 12, 2010, itfurther devastated Haiti’s already minimaloral health delivery system. A majority ofthese oral health clinics and providers were located in thecapital of Port-au-Prince; oral health clinics and oral healthprofessionals in rural areas of Haiti were nearly nonexistent.Given Haiti’s urgent need for greater access to oral health care,especially in rural areas, the development of a sustainableacademic oral health clinic would be a critical and welcomeadvance for this underserved population.Previous attempts by US organizations at buildingoral health clinics in developing nations through privateand public enterprises have generally not grown out of solidconceptual frameworks and detailed analyses. HSDM is takinga different approach. Under principal investigator ElsbethKalenderian, chair and associate professor of oral health policyand epidemiology, HSDM is undertaking a study that willformulate the first comprehensive strategic plan to successfullydevelop, operate, and sustain an academic oral health clinicin rural Haiti. The overarching hypothesis of the study,which is my doctoral research, is that an evidence-based andlocally tailored academic oral health clinic can be successfullydeveloped, operated, and sustained in rural Haiti throughan innovative collaboration among HSDM, the nonprofitorganization Partners In Health—which has deep roots inHaiti—and experts from the local Haitian community.The initiative will ultimately combine local knowledgeand workforce with expertise from HSDM and PartnersIn Health to create a culturally competent and relevantenvironment. HSDM predoctoral (DMD) students,advanced graduate specialty residents, postdoctoralfellows, and multidisciplinary faculty, as well as facultyfrom the Harvard School of Public Health and HarvardMedical School, will participate in the project.The study has the following goals:1. Assess the current oral health status, physicalinfrastructure, available tangible and intangibleresources, and cultural norms and values present inHaiti in order to understand potential opportunitiesto develop a successful, operational, and sustainableacademic oral health clinic in rural Haiti.Rishi PopatDr. Rose Dina Premier, oral and dental health coordinatorat Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante in Haiti, shows off herHSDM mug, given to her by HSDM orthodontics resident RishiPopat, PD09 (DMSc 2014), who is conducting postdoctoralresearch in collaboration with Partners In Health as afoundation for developing a sustainable oral health clinic inrural Haiti.10 winter 2012–13 • harvard dental bulletin