Online oral health information seeking experience and knowledge, attitudes and practices of oral health among iranian medical students: an online survey

Linear and non-linear associations of depressive symptoms with oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among rural older adults in China: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Depression affects the oral health of older adults; however, little is known about its impact on oral health among rural older adults in developing countries, which warrants further research. Taking China as an example, there is a large population base of rural older adults suffering from depression, and many rural older people also have long-term oral health problems, which have seriously affected their quality of life in later life. Therefore, this study aimed to explore linear and non-linear associations of depressive symptoms with oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among rural older adults in China.

METHODS

From November 2020 to December 2020, 1,902 rural community-dwelling older people aged 60 years and older were investigated, via a cross-sectional survey. The general information, depressive status, oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the participants were obtained through face-to-face structured questionnaires. Among them, the Zung Depression Self-Rating Scale was used to investigate the depressive symptoms of the participants in this survey. The generalized linear model and classification and regression tree model were used, separately.

RESULTS

Based on linear analysis results, we found that minimal to mild depressive symptoms [regression coefficient (β) = -0.345; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.582 to -0.109, P = 0.004] and depressive symptoms (β = -1.064; 95% CI: -1.982 to -0.146, P = 0.023) were significantly correlated with oral health knowledge. A negative correlation was observed between minimal to mild depressive symptoms (β = -0.385; 95% CI: -0.600 to -0.170, P < 0.001) and oral health attitudes. In addition, while both minimal to mild depressive symptoms (β = 0.018; 95% CI: -0.312 to 0.347, P = 0.916) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.604; 95% CI: -0.675 to 1.883, P = 0.355) were associated with oral health practices. Furthermore, the non-linear analysis showed a combined effect of depressive symptoms on oral health attitudes, indicating that older people of a younger age, not living alone, and not suffering from depressive symptoms are more likely to report better oral health attitudes.

CONCLUSION

Both the linear and non-linear analyses in our study showed that depressive symptoms are significantly correlated with the poor oral health attitudes of older adults in rural communities. Furthermore, depressive symptoms were associated with oral health knowledge in the linear analysis. However, no statistically significant difference was found between depressive symptoms and oral health practices in either analysis. This research deepens our knowledge and understanding of relevant evidence in the mental and oral health of people in later life. In addition, analyzing the factors that affect the oral health of older people from the perspective of their depressive status provides new thinking directions and scientific references for improving the oral health of older adults in practical life.

Attitude, awareness, and knowledge of telemedicine among medical students: A systematic review of cross-sectional studies

Background and Aims

The success of every new technology depends on numerous factors, including specialists' knowledge and perceptions of the concept, acquired attitude skills, and work environments. This systematic review aimed to examine medical students' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of telemedicine.

Methods

Studies were obtained from the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases on June 9, 2022. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Cross-sectional studies that examined medical students' knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of telemedicine approaches were considered inclusion criteria. Titles and abstracts were independently screened based on eligibility criteria. Articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from this review. After that, the complete texts were retrieved and screened by two separate researchers based on the eligibility criteria. Disputes were resolved by discussion. The same checklist was used for data extraction. To assess the quality of the studies entering this study, the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for analytical cross-sectional studies was used.

Results

In total, 10 eligible articles were found through this review. The sample size of the studies ranged from 60 to 3312 participants, or 6172 participants on the whole. The medical students' attitudes toward telemedicine were evaluated in eight included studies. Many of these studies (seven cases) reported positive and promising perspectives on telemedicine. However, in one study, participants revealed moderate attitudes toward online health information and online health experience sharing (p < 0.05). Students' knowledge of the telemedicine approach was evaluated in eight included studies. Many of these studies (five cases) reported that students possessed an extensively poor knowledge of telemedicine's uses. In three other studies, two reported moderate and one disclosed desirable levels of students' knowledge. All the included studies attributed medical students' poor knowledge to the lack of, and thus failure of, educational courses in this field.

Conclusion

The evidence obtained from this review reveals that medical students possess positive and promising attitudes toward telemedicine technology for education, treatment, and care. However, their knowledge levels were extremely insufficient, and many had not passed any educational courses in this respect. Such results can foreground the health and education policymakers' obligations for planning, training, and empowering digital health and telemedicine literacy among medical students as the primary players in social health.

Science Popularization Education regarding Oral Health-General Health for Nonmedical Undergraduates Applying a SPOC Teaching Model

Objective

To see how effective a blended teaching model based on a small private online course (SPOC) is in a science popularization education course on oral health-general health (OHGH).

Methods

The SPOC blended teaching model was created using an elective classroom course “Oral Prophylaxis and Hygiene” in conjunction with an online learning course called “Preventive Dentistry” from the China University massive open online course (MOOC) for the science popularization education on OHGH. Students' evaluations and teaching efficacy of this science popularization education course were tested using pre- and postcourse questionnaires.

Results

In all, 105 valid questionnaires were returned. Before the course, 95.2% of the students expressed an interest in learning more knowledge on oral disease and OHGH. When compared to those of the precourse, students' knowledge of oral diseases and OHGH was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) and the associated practice after science popularization education was much increased (P < 0.0001 or P = 0.0005), except for root canal therapy (P = 0.3886). The scores of students on the scientific popularization task also improved when compared to those of the previous classroom-only teaching (P < 0.0001). In the postcourse questionnaire, students rated the SPOC teaching mode significantly higher than both online learning and classroom teaching alone (P < 0.0001; P = 0.0117); the SPOC blended teaching was judged as more suitable for science popularization education (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

The application of the SPOC teaching mode for the science popularization education course on OHGH to nonmedical undergraduates has better teaching outcomes and is more likely to be accepted by college students.