Casual Conversation Leads to Meaningful Interprofessional Research
Most people can remember a time when a chance encounter led to something unexpected, like reconnecting with a childhood friend after running into them at the market or when sitting next to a stranger on an airplane led to a job interview. For Vicki Penna and Dr. Jay Sutliffe, it was a casual conversation between old friends that sparked an unexpected idea.
Penna is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Dental Hygiene Department at NAU. Sutliffe is a Professor of Health Sciences. While their lives as friends intertwined over the years, their professional lives tended to remain separate. That was until one summer day when the two were catching up and enjoying the sunshine between classes. Jay mentioned his research to Vicki. He was studying if and how a six-week employee nutrition intervention program offering workshops and resources about cooking at home, plant-based meals, and nutrition would lead to positive health outcomes. He was in the process of expanding his research to isolate a Native American population for a similar study through a three-year National Institute of Health (NIH) funded R15 grant that he was writing. Vicki thought he needed to talk to her colleague Chadleo Webb, Assistant Clinical Professor in Dental Hygiene, about including an oral health component to the study.
That’s what they did.
In addition to cardiometabolic measures, Sutliffe and Webb also incorporated oral health measures into the study. Their NIH grant application was awarded to determine if the 147 Twin Arrows Casino employees going through an employee wellness program would lead to improved cardiometabolic health but also improved oral health, such as reduced severity of gum disease simply by changing one’s diet.
“One of the biggest advantages of the interprofessional aspect that we teach our students is that it’s training them to look beyond their own specialty with a patient,” says Webb. “For example, a public health expert might teach nutrition as it relates to diabetes. A dental hygienist may teach nutrition as it relates to oral health, but if we look at it together, then we are really considering the whole person.”
The study is currently underway with Dr. Nanette Lopez, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, as the new Principal Investigator as Sutliffe prepares to take a sabbatical. This project highlights the importance of interprofessional collaboration, whether formally organized or through casual conversation between friends.