Low-income Children Have Greatest Dental Needs.Poor dental health impacts children’s growth, function, behavior, and school readiness. Sadly, low-income children experience the greatest amount of dental disease and fewest dental visits, even though they have the highest rates of dental insurance coverage (Medicaid and SCHIP). Thus, sources other than cost must serve as barriers. This study sought to identify factors which might prevent or facilitate adequate dental care.

The recent development of telepresence robots provides the opportunity for virtual inclusion to students who are not able to attend school due to medical conditions. Every year, large numbers of K-12 students are not able to attend class due to illness. Extended absence from the classroom has negative and overlapping educational, social, and medical consequences as students may fall behind in instruction, feel isolated from their peers, and experience difficulties in their recovery due to loneliness and depression. The recent development of telepresence robots provides a possible means for addressing this situation. Preliminary results from a local case study on the use of these robots in a public school system indicate that virtual inclusion may provide significant improvements in the educational, social, and healthcare experiences of this vulnerable population.

Due to increased survival rates, and reclassification of illnesses once considered fatal, there is a growing population of children who are homebound due to chronic illnesses. This project aims to address the lag between the scientific discoveries that have led to increased survival and needed changes in the treatments and practices afforded to these children for quality of life. Recent technological innovations, such as telepresence robots, (Figure 1) may allow for partnerships between the technology, healthcare, and education fields to improve well-being, health, and social outcomes for homebound pediatric patients. These robots allow for real-time, two-way communication and have features that allow for integration of homebound pediatric patients in existing school settings and peer social structures. The goal of robot use is for the patient to engage in social and academic experiences in such a way that they contribute to healthy social emotional development. These social experiences may also contribute to increased adherence to prescribed medial regimens resulting in improved well-being and health outcomes for this population. This project will provide an interdisciplinary partnership between schools of Education, Informatics, and Pediatrics that will provide formal, objective research studies in order to provide recommendations for use of the robots as supported by the psychology, educational, and health care research literatures.