Dental hygiene professor receives $100,000 research grant

Idaho State University (ISU) dental hygiene professor Linda Boyd and Special Olympics' global advisor Donna Bainbridge have received a $100,000 grant from Special Olympics International to research how volunteering in the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program affects health professionals.

Launched in 1997, the Healthy Athletes program provides free health screenings for Special Olympics athletes competing at local, national, and world games. Screenings performed by health professions volunteers include dental, hearing, vision, health and well-being, feet, and fitness.

"People with special needs have challenges accessing healthcare in the U.S.," said Boyd, director of ISU's graduate dental hygiene program. "Through our research, Special Olympics will explore whether volunteering leads to changes in attitudes and increased efforts to provide care to persons with intellectual disabilities."

In March, Boyd and Bainbridge will begin preparing questions for an online survey administered to first-time volunteers participating in the Healthy Athletes program. Surveys will begin this summer at the Special Olympics 2010 USA National Games in Lincoln, NE.

"We intend to sample 300 to 500 new volunteers over the next two years. We will survey them before and after they volunteer to see if their perceptions and practice behaviors have changed," Boyd said.

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