community oral health dep, mashhad dental school
Abstract: (92 Views)
Background & Objective: It is essential to cultivate dentists who are not only technically proficient but also socially sensitive in order to reduce oral health disparities. Assessing attitudes has been emphasized in dental education within this context. This study aimed to assess dental students' attitudes toward less privileged populations.
Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the valid Persian version of the “Dental Student Attitude Toward Underserved Population” (DSATU) questionnaire to evaluate the attitudes of first and final year dental students at Mashhad dental school toward deprived populations. The questionnaire consists of 21 Likert scale questions across four domains addressing social expectations, student responsibility, personal efficacy, and access to care. The outcome variables were the overall and domain-specific scores of the DSATU questionnaire. Independent variables included students' gender and academic year. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22.
Results: The questionnaire was administered to 52 first-year and 58 final-year students, yielding a response rate of 90%. The majority of participants were final-year students (55.7%) and female (59.6%). First-year students generally exhibited a more positive perspective, scoring 8 points higher than final-year students in the total survey: 85.53 (81%) versus 76.66 (73%) out of a maximum of 105 points. The decline in attitudes among final-year students was statistically significant in total and all domain scores (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant gender difference in total DSATU and subdomain scores, except for access to care (p = 0.037).
Conclusion: This study suggests less favorable attitudes toward underserved populations among final-year students. Longitudinal rigorous evaluation of students' attitudes provides better insights into the effectiveness of dental education.
Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the valid Persian version of the “Dental Student Attitude Toward Underserved Population” (DSATU) questionnaire to evaluate the attitudes of first and final year dental students at Mashhad dental school toward deprived populations. The questionnaire consists of 21 Likert scale questions across four domains addressing social expectations, student responsibility, personal efficacy, and access to care. The outcome variables were the overall and domain-specific scores of the DSATU questionnaire. Independent variables included students' gender and academic year. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22.
Results: The questionnaire was administered to 52 first-year and 58 final-year students, yielding a response rate of 90%. The majority of participants were final-year students (55.7%) and female (59.6%). First-year students generally exhibited a more positive perspective, scoring 8 points higher than final-year students in the total survey: 85.53 (81%) versus 76.66 (73%) out of a maximum of 105 points. The decline in attitudes among final-year students was statistically significant in total and all domain scores (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant gender difference in total DSATU and subdomain scores, except for access to care (p = 0.037).
Conclusion: This study suggests less favorable attitudes toward underserved populations among final-year students. Longitudinal rigorous evaluation of students' attitudes provides better insights into the effectiveness of dental education.
Article Type : Orginal Research |
Subject:
Medical Education
Received: 2024/01/23 | Accepted: 2024/08/17
Received: 2024/01/23 | Accepted: 2024/08/17
References
1. Ozdemir D. Dental caries: the most common disease worldwide and preventive strategies. International Journal of Biology. 2013;5(4):55. [DOI]
2. Peres MA, Macpherson LM, Weyant RJ, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. The Lancet. 2019;394(10194):249-60. [DOI]
3. Locker D. Deprivation and oral health: a review. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology: Commissioned Review. 2000;28(3):161-9. [DOI]
4. Schäfer WL, Boerma WG, Kringos DS, et al. QUALICOPC, a multi-country study evaluating quality, costs and equity in primary care. BMC Family Practice. 2011;12(1):1-9. [DOI]
5. Northridge ME, Kumar A, Kaur R. Disparities in access to oral health care. Annual Review of Public Health. 2020;41:513-35. [ [DOI]
6. Furlini L, Noushi N, Castonguay G, et al. Assessing dental students’ readiness to treat populations that are underserved: a scoping review. Journal of Dental Education. 2018;82(5):483-91. [DOI]
7. Brown G, Manogue M, Rohlin M. Assessing attitudes in dental education: is it worthwhile? British Dental Journal. 2002;193(12):703-7. [ [DOI]
8. Smith PD, Mays KA. Dental students' non‐clinical learning during community‐based experiences: a survey of US dental schools. Journal of Dental Education. 2019;83(11):1289-95. [DOI]
9. Mays KA, Maguire M. Care provided by students in community‐based dental education: helping meet oral health needs in underserved communities. Journal of Dental Education. 2018;82(1):20-8. [DOI]
10. Volvovsky M, Vodopyanov D, Inglehart MR. Dental students and faculty members’ attitudes towards Care for Underserved Patients and community service: do community-based dental education and voluntary service-learning matter? Journal of Dental Education. 2014;78(8):1127-38. [DOI]
11. Andersen RM, Davidson PL, Atchison KA, Crall JJ, et al. Summary and implications of the dental Pipeline program evaluation. Journal of Dental Education. 2009;73(2): 19-30. [DOI]
12. Gordon S, Warren AC, Wright WG. Influence of community‐based dental education on practice choice: preliminary data from east Carolina university. Journal of Dental Education. 2019;83(9):1000-11. [DOI]
13. Bandehagh A, Khami MR, Farshad F, Hessari H. Community-based dental education in Iranian dental schools. BMC Oral Health. 2024;24(1):526. [DOI]
14. Lu SH, McQuistan MR, Qian F. Predictors of dental students' anticipated willingness to treat underserved populations five years after graduation. Journal of Dental Education. 2019;83(11):1253-62. [DOI]
15. Kuthy RA, McQuistan MR, Heller KE, Riniker‐Pins KJ, Qian F. Dental students’ perceived comfort and future willingness to treat underserved populations: surveys prior to and immediately after extramural experiences. Special Care in Dentistry. 2010;30(6):242-9. [DOI]
16. Major N, McQuistan MR, Qian F. Changes in dental students’ attitudes about treating underserved populations: a longitudinal study. Journal of Dental Education. 2016;80(5):517-25. [DOI]
17. Crandall SJ, Volk RJ, Loemker V. Medical students' attitudes toward providing care for the underserved. Are we training socially responsible physicians? Journal of American Medical Association. 1993;269(19):2519-23. [DOI]
18. Habibian M, Seirawan H, Mulligan R. Dental students’ attitudes toward underserved populations across four years of dental school. Journal of Dental Education. 2011;75(8):1020-9. [DOI]
19. Volvovsky M, Vodopyanov D, Inglehart MR. Dental students and faculty members' attitudes towards care for underserved patients and community service: do community-based dental education and voluntary service-learning matter? Journal of Dental Education. 2014;78(8):1127-38. [DOI]
20. Smith CS, Ester TV, Inglehart MR. Dental education and care for underserved patients: an analysis of students’ intentions and alumni behavior. Journal of Dental Education. 2006;70(4):398-408. [DOI]
21. Crandall SJ, Reboussin BA, Michielutte R, Anthony JE, Naughton MJ. Medical students’ attitudes toward underserved patients: a longitudinal comparison of problem-based and traditional medical curricula. Advances in Health Sciences Education. 2007;12(1):71-86. [DOI]
22. Stephens MB, Landers G, Davis SW, Durning SJ, Crandall SJ. Medical student attitudes toward the medically underserved: the USU perspective. Military Medicine. 2015;180(suppl_4):61-3. [DOI]
23. Crandall SJ, Davis SW, Broeseker AE, Hildebrandt C. A longitudinal comparison of pharmacy and medical students' attitudes toward the medically underserved. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 2008;72(6):148. [DOI]
24. Wayne S, Dellmore D, Serna L, Jerabek R, Timm C, Kalishman S. The association between intolerance of ambiguity and decline in medical students' attitudes toward the underserved. Academic Medicine. 2011;86(7):877-82. [DOI]
25. Sick B, Zhang L, Weber-Main AM. Changes in health professional students' attitudes toward the underserved: impact of extended participation in an interprofessional student-run free clinic. Journal of Allied Health. 2017;46(4):213-9.
26. Guthrie E, Black D, Shaw C, Hamilton J, Creed F, Tomenson B. Embarking upon a medical career: psychological morbidity in first year medical students. Medical Education. 1995;29(5):337-41. [DOI]
27. Chen V, Foster Page L, McMillan J, Lyons K, Gibson B. Measuring the attitudes of dental students towards social accountability following dental education–qualitative findings. Medical Teacher. 2016;38(6):599-606. [DOI]
28. Crandall SJ, Volk RJ, Cacy D. A longitudinal investigation of medical student attitudes toward the medically indigent. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 1997;9(4):254-60. [DOI]
29. McKenzie CT, Mitchell SC. Dental students' attitudes about treating populations that are low‐income rural, non‐white, and with special needs: a survey of four classes at a US dental school. Journal of Dental Education. 2019;83(6):669-78. [DOI]
30. Wieland ML, Beckman TJ, Cha SS, Beebe TJ, McDonald FS. Underserved care curriculum collaborative. Residents' attitudes and behaviors regarding care for underserved patients: a multi-institutional survey. Journal of Graduate Medical Education. 2011;3(3):337-44. [DOI]
31. Neamatollahi H, Mehrabkhani M, Ghafarpour S, Ghasemi A. Evaluation of Mashhad dental school students’ motives and viewpoints on their Career choices in 2010. Journal of Mashhad Dental School. 2014;38(1):71-84. [DOI]
32. Komaromy M, Lurie N, Bindman AB. California physicians' willingness to care for the poor. Western Journal of Medicine. 1995;162(2):127.
33. Brewer L, Grbic D. Medical students’ socioeconomic background and their completing of the first 2 years of medical school. Anal Brief. 2010;9(11):1–2.
34. Karagir A, Khairnar MR, Adaki S, Dhole RI, Patil MC, Ingale A. Assessment of the factors influencing dental students to choose dentistry as a career: a cross-sectional survey. Indian Journal of Dental Research. 2021;32(2):153-7. [DOI]
35. Cariaga-Lo LD, Crandall SJS, Conner D, Georgesen J, Greek D. Developing attitudes of social responsibility in the professions: the impact of medical students’ gender and personality attributes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American educational research association, Chicago IL. 1997.
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |