Community-based education: Experiences of undergraduate dental therapy students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Final year oral hygiene students' perceptions and reflections on experiential learning in a special needs oral health care program

BACKGROUND

Oral health care programs offer a platform for experiential learning that include prospects for skills development; opportunities for knowledge application and for the creation of an awareness of community responsibilities. Gaining experience in the care for special needs patients is ideally achieved through exposure in special needs settings such as the school community.

AIM

This study investigated the perceptions and reflections of experiential learning by final year oral hygiene students in a special need's oral health care program at the University of Western Cape.

METHODS

This study incorporated a concurrent triangulation study design that included final year Oral Hygiene students who participated in a special need's oral health care program. Students completed an on-line self-administered questionnaire, a reflective journal and participated in a focus group discussion.

RESULTS

All respondents understood the concept of experiential learning. The predominant dispositions that emerged included student adaptation, awareness, empathy, and experience which were regarded as particularly important for personal growth. With regards to academic growth, facets of confidence, theory translation, clinical skill development and improved communication were identified as critical elements in development. Challenges included lack of cooperation from the learners and lack of kills in non-verbal communication. An increased awareness and a strong willingness to participate in community projects was also reported amongst the student respondents.

CONCLUSION

The experiential learning opportunity in the school-based special needs oral health care program was invaluable to the children as well as the students. This community -based program supported personal and academic growth and it provided authentic learning opportunities; facilitated professional development, improved clinical skills and competence, enhanced problem solving and communication skills and raised awareness on social responsibility. Challenges experienced pertained to cooperation and communication with the children. Suggestions included maintaining access to care for the children through oral care program initiatives, as well as ongoing rotation of Oral Hygiene students who are ideally positioned to provide promotive and preventive oral care to special needs individuals. Schools for special needs children provide an ideal platform to facilitate access to care and to provide experiential learning opportunities in authentic settings.

Community-based education programmes in the context of dental education: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Community education programmes are vital tools for teaching skills, such as understanding the larger cultural, economic and social determinants of health and how these factors impact people's health. It is currently unclear whether community education programmes in the field of dentistry deliver adequate value. This review aims to scope, collate and analyse globally published evidence concerning community education programmes in dentistry from inception, to gain an understanding of the intentions for these programmes and establish whether outcomes have shifted over time from the original intentions.

METHODS

Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping reviews was employed to guide the reviewers. A systematic search of electronic databases and the reference lists in key papers was conducted.

RESULTS

A systematic search concerning community education in dentistry identified a total of 140 papers for full-text evaluations. After further exclusions, 115 articles were selected for data charting. There was a lack of clarity in the literature concerning programmes' definitions and strategies for achieving intentions. Origins, intentions and motivations of the programmes were identified. The literature largely focused on assessing students' clinical treatment skills, contradicting the programme's original idea and intentions. Only a few studies incorporated patient and community perspectives, and the majority of assessments were self-reported, primarily by students.

CONCLUSIONS

There is broad interest in integrating community education into dental curricula to teach complex concepts, dental public health principles and to ensure professional skills development. We identified issues in the literature around programme definitions, strategies, measurement approaches and programme success requiring additional research.

Attitudes and Practices of Dental Students in Providing Oral Health-Care Services to Underserved Rural Patients Attending Dental Institutions of Telangana, India

Introduction:

Attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs around an object, subject, or concept, which predisposes one to respond in some preferential manner. It decides one’s action. Dental students frequently come across underserved rural population and must have good attitudes toward them, so that the care delivered to them will be optimum.

Aim:

To assess the attitudes and practices of dental students in providing oral health-care services to underserved rural patients.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among final-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students, interns, and postgraduate students who are involved in providing dental care in dental institutions of Telangana State, India. A 15-item, self-structured, pretested questionnaire was administered. Descriptive statistics were calculated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20.0. Attitudes and practices of undergraduates and postgraduates were compared using paired t-test.

Results:

A total of 574 students participated in the study. Approximately 73.3% of the dental students agreed that they personally want to be involved in providing oral health care for the underserved and 27.1% students disagreed that underserved patients are subjects on whom they can train and expertise. Approximately 56.62% of dental students often asked patients about the expenses they bear for attending a single dental visit and 53.48% tried to minimize the number of appointments required for the patients. No significant difference was observed in attitudes between undergraduates and postgraduates.

Conclusion:

Dental students had moderate attitude toward underserved patients but this was not reflected in their practices.