Dalhousie University's communities of practice: Part 2. Research collaborations.

T he commitment of Dalhousie University's faculty of dentistry to improving access to care is visible in the innovative and supportive partnerships among dentists, dental hygienists, academics, care providers, policy-makers and community members the faculty has established over the years. These partnerships are effective communities of practice that bring together a group of people who share a common concern or interest and who learn through interacting with each other. 1 Communities of practice can take many forms, including voluntary informal networks, work-supported formal education sessions, apprentice training or multidisciplinary, multi-site project teams. 2 Communities of practice can be a means of bridging the gap between researchers and the practitioners and policy-makers who make use of research outcomes, 3 with knowledge transfer flowing in both directions. The process of knowledge transfer entails a complex series of actions that " encompasses all steps between the creation of new knowledge and its application to yield beneficial outcomes for society. " 4 Coalitions such as communities of practice in dental education and research may lead to new models of oral care that will help to alleviate the increasing demands placed upon our current systems of oral care. 5 The Collaboration of Oral Health Researchers (COHR), a research group founded by Drs. Mark Filiaggi and Debora Matthews, has been a productive and dynamic community of practice since its early beginnings in 2004. The COHR mission is to improve the oral health of under-served populations and to build capacity for oral health-related research. Through the development of strong collaborative partnerships with decision-makers, stakeholders and the community , we are building necessary links between population needs assessment and delivery of oral health services. Concurrent with the creation of the COHR, we also began a significant and sustained partnership with the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre to create the Oral Health of Seniors research group. Over time, our coalitions have shared research knowledge and resources to form well-rounded and diverse groups with a common interest in increasing access to oral health care for vulnerable populations. Over the past 10 years, COHR researchers have been awarded over one million dollars of research and knowledge translation funding focusing on the oral health of older adults. Recent BLOCKINCOHR BLOCKINResearch BLOCKINCommunities Community Engagement with Northwood Care Our first and most consistent community research partner has been Northwood Care, located in central Halifax. Northwood Care is a large private, not-for-profit continuing care organization …