Barriers to cross-border research projects: A prelude to improving professional collaborations between the United States and Mexico

Study objective. This was a secondary data analysis of a study designed and executed in two phases in order to investigate several questions: Why aren't more investigators conducting successful cross-border research on human health issues? What are the barriers to conducting this research? What interventions might facilitate cross-border research? ^ Methods. Key informant interviews and focus groups were used in Phase One, and structured questionnaires in Phase Two. A multi-question survey was created based on the findings of focus groups and distributed to a wider circle of researchers and academics for completion. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS software. ^ Setting. El Paso, TX located on the U.S-Mexico Border. ^ Participants. Individuals from local academic institutions and the State Department of Health. ^ Results. From the transcribed data of the focus groups, eight major themes emerged: Political Barriers, Language/Cultural Barriers, Differing Goals, Geographic Issues, Legal Barriers, Technology/Material Issues, Financial Barriers, and Trust Issues. Using these themes, the questionnaire was created. ^ The response rate for the questionnaires was 47%. The largest obstacles revealed by this study were identifying a funding source for the project (47% agreeing or strongly agreeing), difficulties paying a foreign counterpart (33% agreeing or strongly agreeing) and administrative changes in Mexico (31% agreeing or strongly agreeing). ^ Conclusions. Many U.S. investigators interested in cross-border research have been discouraged in their efforts by varying barriers. The majority of respondents in the survey felt financial issues and changes in Mexican governments were the most significant obstacles. While some of these barriers can be overcome simply by collaboration among motivated groups, other barriers may be more difficult to remove. Although more evaluation of this research question is warranted, the information obtained through this study is sufficient to support creation of a Cross-Border Research Resource Manual to be used by individuals interested in conducting research with Mexico. ^

U.S. school based sealant programs: Review of their most common characteristics

In the United States, dental caries is the most common chronic illness in children, occurring five to eight times as frequently as asthma. 11 Dental caries is an unmet health need, disproportionately affecting minority groups and individuals with low socio-economic status.15,34,36 School-Based Sealant Programs were developed to target children at risk, to provide dental services in a closer geographic area, to offer low cost preventive dental services, and to educate families about oral health and prevention.1 There is scientific, evidence based literature that shows the effectiveness of dental sealants preventing dental decay. 13^ Currently, there is no central source for cataloging School-Based Sealant Programs (SBSPs). Information is scattered around publications and documents. For instance, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) does not have information about all the existing SBSPs. ^ This literature review determined which are the most common characteristics of SBSPs in the U.S. and determined the extent to which these programs provide sealants to children of low socio-economic status. The method utilized was an electronic database search. Pubmed and EBESCO host databases were searched with Mesh terms like “dental school sealant programs”, “community dentistry”, “school based sealant programs” and “oral preventive programs”. Results were organized in terms of location, population served, providers, funding source and data shared. ^ The searches produced 77 studies, from which 40 were included in this work. Only 18 U.S. states were represented in the results; however these findings are very consistent with the Best Practice Approach – School Based Sealant Programs3. Most of the SBSPs provide their services to children from low income families, and utilized the lower labor cost providers permitted by their state regulations. The author intends that this thesis work will become an aide in the development of future programs, and as evidence for the sustainability of these programs.^