Gerardo Maupome
Professor, Associate Dean of ResearchProfessor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Adjunct Professor, Department of Periodontics and Allied Dental Programs, IUPUI School of Dentistry.
Honorary Visiting Professor, Health Services Research Program, School of Dentistry, University of Manchester.
Affiliated Professor, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
Affiliated Faculty, Indiana University Network Science Institute, Indiana University at Bloomington.
ude[dot]iupui[at]emopuamg
Health disparities and disparities in access to health care
Gerardo Maupome is a public health dentist and dental researcher who has explored various areas directly applicable to oral health and disease in population-based research. Moving beyond the all-too-common paradigm of solving dental problems one tooth at a time, Dr. Maupome has been engaged for the past couple of decades in identifying and characterizing the reasons and mechanisms for poor oral health, and their links with general well being. Dental caries (tooth decay) and periodontal (gum) diseases have consistently been at the top of his research agenda, responding to the public health salience of such conditions as some of the most common health problems in America. Using multiple techniques grounded on socio-behavioral and epidemiological research, and focused on the resolution of health disparities (both dental and medical), he has gathered evidence of the various dimensions in which oral disorders interrelate with medical conditions: dietary, nutritional, socio-cultural, clinical, and public health. Epidemiology and public health measurements and planning have had important roles in Dr. Maupome's scholarly portfolio. Besides contrasts to further ascertain the role of antibiotics, statins, and fluorides on dental and periodontal features in human beings, Dr. Maupome has explored how child and elder populations are at increased need for dental treatment because of their clinical and social backgrounds. Having worked with Hispanic groups in Mexico and the USA, and with indigenous groups in Mexico, Canada, and the USA, he has accrued substantive findings about the distribution of diseases/disorders across socio-cultural and socio-demographic continua. His current research interests are about incorporating health economics methods and new clinical interventions to gain new knowledge about, and appraise potential impact of, unconventional approaches to health systems and practices.