PIRE partnered with the University of Louisville’s School of Dentistry to conduct a pilot test of a Case Manager Intervention (CMI) to Increase Dental Care Utilization by Medicaid Children. The study was conducted to determine if a case manager intervention would be more effective than control conditions in increasing dental care utilization among Medicaid insured children. Parents of Medicaid insured children (n = 154) were recruited by the Medicaid Administrator at Passport Health Plan. They were assessed and randomly assigned to CMI or control. The CMI consisted of oral health education and assistance in obtaining dental care. The study found that dental utilization was increased among all families during the study and parental perceived need for dental care was a significant predictor of utilization. The CMI significantly increased utilization only among children (n = 83) whose families had annual incomes < $10,000 and among families who completed all study activities (n = 93).
Knowlton Johnson, PhD
Contact
Melissa Abadi
mabadi@pire.org
Louisville Center
401 W. Main St., Suite 2100
Louisville, KY 40202
Tel: (502) 634-3694
Fax: (502) 634-5690
