Dental Students' Attitudes About Treating Populations That Are Low‐Income Rural, Non‐White, and with Special Needs: A Survey of Four Classes at a U.S. Dental School

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore dental students' attitudes about treating populations that are low‐income rural, non‐white, and with special needs. All 259 students in all four years at one U.S. dental school were invited in January 2018 to participate in a survey with questions about treating these three populations in the following areas: personal value, perceived preparedness, comfort, future intent to treat, and professional responsibility. A total of 227 students completed the survey, for an overall 87.6% response rate. By class, participants were as follows: D1 n=63, 100% response rate; D2 n=60, 98.4% response rate; D3 n=67, 98.5% response rate; and D4 n=37, 53.6% response rate. The results showed that dental school class did not predict willingness to treat the specified populations. Regarding populations that are rural and non‐white, personal value and professional responsibility significantly correlated with intent to treat. Women perceived stronger professional responsibility regarding treatment of populations that are low‐income rural (M=1.97, SD=1.09; p=0.004) and non‐white (M=1.95, SD=1.07; p=0.013) than did men (M=2.44, SD=1.23; M=2.34, SD=1.22, respectively). More advanced students reported greater preparedness regarding populations that are rural and non‐white, but not patients with special needs. Preparedness correlated with intent to treat for patients with special needs only. Women were less comfortable than men in treating patients with special needs (χ2=6.10, p=0.014). Hometown residence had a limited effect for patients with special needs only. Rural residence did not predict students' attitudes about serving rural patients. Overall, the students reported positive intentions to serve populations that are low income, but showed less confidence and willingness in treating patients with special needs, especially among women. These results suggest that the students' comfort in serving patients with low income was more static and less malleable than preparedness. As preparedness and personal value were positively correlated, students may have found worthwhile what they felt prepared to do.

Attitudes of dental students towards patients with special healthcare needs: Can they be improved?

“…Thus, while the programme seemed to be able to help improve students' reactions to people with special healthcare needs, it proved unable to lower the barrier when it comes to treating them. This contrasts with results of previous studies with dental students as well as with practicing dentists which revealed a positive association between the exposure to education in the treatment of persons with special healthcare needs and the willingness to treat this clientele (see Introduction). A possible explanation for this discrepancy as well as for the increasing endorsement of specialised services may be sought in students' growing awareness that they were insufficiently prepared for treating this clientele.…”

“…In fact, several studies have shown that dentists who had undergone training in managing patients with special healthcare needs and who perceived their educational experiences as valuable felt more comfortable with treating this group of patients and treated more of these patients compared to those not exposed to this kind of training . Similarly, students who perceived themselves prepared for the treatment of patients with special needs showed greater future intention to treat this clientele …”

What influences attitudes toward professionalism in dental students?

“…There also appears uncertainty in regards to promoting access and justice in the delivery of oral health care, which suggests that students may be unwilling to address oral health inequalities, a finding that is corroborated in the literature 12,29 . The dissatisfaction with community‐based education and interprofessional learning expressed by students, and the lesser proportion of students wanting to set‐up practice in rural areas or pursue a career in public practice, may also be related to access and justice issues in oral health care.…”

“…7 There also appears uncertainty in regards to promoting access and justice in the delivery of oral health care, which suggests that students may be unwilling to address oral health inequalities, a finding that is corroborated in the literature. 12,29 The dissatisfaction with community-based education and interprofessional learning expressed by stu-dents, and the lesser proportion of students wanting to set-up practice in rural areas or pursue a career in public practice, may also be related to access and justice issues in oral health care. It could be argued that by improving community-based and interprofessional learning experiences, and by motivating/incentivizing students to provide dental care in remote areas and in public settings, dental education may be able to enhance students' awareness of their social responsibility and accountability to the public.…”

Percepção Dos Cirurgiões-Dentistas E Acadêmicos Sobre O Atendimento a Pacientes Com Necessidades Especiais Em Porto Velho – Ro

“…Além disso, expressam experiências curriculares inconsistentes atribuídas a restrições de tempo (INCLAN et al, 2020) e menos confiança e vontade de tratar pacientes com necessidades especiais (MACKENZIE et al, 2019).…”