Integrate

Since 2009, NIIOH has been a leading national voice for interprofessional integration into whole person care.  Our strategies inspire a philosophy of “collective impact,” where health professionals across disciplines can engage in mutually supportive ways to drive change. 

  • NIIOH facilitates interprofessional agreement, offering spaces where individuals and organizations from all areas of healthcare can share ideas and perspectives to create shared goals and meaningful change to increase access and equitable in oral health services.
  • The disruption we are witnessing today provides a unique opportunity to think differently about the way we work together.  The multidirectional relationship between oral health and other systemic diseases provides a strong rationale for integrating oral health and primary care, potentially transforming the way much of today’s care is delivered.

Transitioning to Collaborative Care Models

  • Our strategy of “collective impact” inspires health professionals to bridge health care silos and engage in mutually supportive ways to drive integration across health care systems. 

Collective Impact

  • Working with a networked mindset, primary care clinicians—including physicians, PAs, NPs, nurses, midwives, dental professionals, pharmacists, social workers, and community health workers—are working to embed oral health and interprofessional practice competencies across their profession. The ultimate goal is to equip the health workforce including health and other frontline workers with the knowledge and skills required to support new integrated care models where oral health is considered an essential component of whole-person care.   

Working with a Networked Mindset

Traditional vs. Network Mindsets

Scearce, D., & Bartczak, L. (2011). Social Change Increasingly Requires Networked Action. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://doi.org/10.48558/RAP4-9G78