The Oral Health Workforce Research Center
Research to Improve Oral Health of the Nation’s Population
Access to oral health care has become a growing concern over the past decade. Despite efforts to improve the oral health of the nation’s population, oral health disparities persist. These disparities are characterized by compromised oral health status, particularly among certain vulnerable populations. One of the factors believed to influence access to oral health services and contribute to these disparities is the availability of a workforce equipped to meet the need for preventive and basic restorative oral health services.
The mission of the Oral Health Workforce Research Center (OHWRC) is to conduct policy-relevant research on the impact of the oral health workforce on oral health outcomes. The research conducted by OHWRC informs workforce strategies to increase access to oral health services for vulnerable populations.
OHWRC is based at the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at the School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York. In 2014, CHWS established OHWRC through a cooperative agreement with the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the US Department of Health and Human Services. CHWS is 1 of 9 health workforce research centers in the country, and the only HRSA-sponsored center with a unique focus on the oral health workforce.
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