# A public health practice investigation exploring the impact of community water fluoridation among American Indian and Alaska Native populations in Alaska.

> **NIH NIH P20** · ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM · 2024 · $136,261

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – Research Project 2: “A public health practice investigation
exploring the impact of community water fluoridation among American Indian and Alaska Native
populations in Alaska”
Recent trends towards community water fluoridation (CWF) cessation raise concerns regarding potential oral
health disparities and the drivers of community decisions regarding CWF. Policy makers, dental and health
providers and public health practitioners’ evidence-based recommendations, to facilitate informed CWF
decisions and ensure oral health promotion efforts are appropriately prioritized. The long-term goal of this
project is to strengthen evidence-based, audience-specific recommendations regarding oral health program
planning especially among American Indian and Alaska Native populations who may suffer disproportionately
more negative oral health outcomes secondary to state and local water policy processes. The objective of this
application is to conduct a quantitative retrospective study to assess measures of decay prevalence utilizing
electronic health records, and identify health provider, policy-maker, and community characteristics associated
with local water policy decisions, and ballot box outcomes, respectively, as they relate to CWF. The rationale
for the project is that analysis of changes in oral health outcomes and associated economic impacts when
CWF is ceased is limited. Similarly, an understanding of the predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors that
drive CWF policy decisions in Alaska is lacking. The project will pursue three specific aims: (1) Explore utilizing
electronic dental records as a population health surveillance tool for specific age groups by region and
exposure to optimal or sub-optimal levels of CWF.; (2) examine, via survey, health care providers’ knowledge,
beliefs, and practices associated with CWF, fluoride applications and other supplementation and any patterns
associated with demographics and fluoridation status in their community of practice; and (3) Analyze local
policy-making processes and community characteristics associated with CWF through a systematic review of
publicly available documents and policy-making actions through mixed-methods analysis of relevant
government agency and public utility databases, traditional and social media, and local governing body
meeting minutes. The project is innovative in that it utilizes electronic dental records as a population oral health
surveillance strategy and it reignites a body of research on the topic of provider, policy-maker, and community
characteristics and their association with CWF decisions amidst a modern social, political, economic, and
technological landscape. The proposed research is significant because the results can inform health equity-
oriented public policies that prioritize American Indian and Alaska Native health, support Tribal Health
Organization dental and health providers with training and communication tools, and may yield a set...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10770963
- **Project number:** 1P20GM152302-01
- **Recipient organization:** ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer A Meyer
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $136,261
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10770963

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10770963, A public health practice investigation exploring the impact of community water fluoridation among American Indian and Alaska Native populations in Alaska. (1P20GM152302-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10770963. Licensed CC0.

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