COHI

Community meetings are held to 1) introduce the concept and objectives of COHI; 2) encourage the community to consider its readiness for ownership of the program;and 3) emphasize that the program will be community-based.

The development, training and utilization of a community health worker to promote and support oral health activities in the community is a significant innovation of the COHI initiative.

The COHI Aide works collaboratively with the dental therapist/ dental hygienist, helping create more effective linkages between community members and the oral health care system.

Evaluation of COHI requires an understanding of both its short and long-term objectives.

COHI is overseen nationally by the Oral Health Promotion Officer and National Dental Therapy Advisor, both based in the Office of Primary Health Care, Ottawa, ON.

COHI was piloted in 41 communities in 2004 in seven regions across Canada: 10 in Atlantic Canada; 4 in Quebec; 11 in Ontario; 3 in Manitoba; 6 in Saskatchewan; 4 in Alberta; and 3 in British Columbia.

During the 2012 programmatic year, 23,585 children had received at least one COHI service; 21,085 had been screened; 22,245 had received at least one fluoride varnish; 2,853 had received at least one sealant; and 1,071 had been treated with ART.

As of 2013, the national COHI workforce consisted of 115 dental therapists, 70 dental hygienists and 222 COHI aides.

(16,17) In contrast, COHI's continued expansion to over half of the country's 636 Aboriginal communities during the past decade is an example of effective collaboration between FN/I communities and the federal health regions.

(21) COHI's successful national expansion may partly be attributed to its evolution into a community-centred partnership with the federal government from its origins within the federal dental therapy program.

The success of COHI's implementation can be attributed to the community assuming control over decisions influencing the oral health of the community.