Going Global: Toward Competency‐Based Best Practices for Global Health in Dental Education

Abstract

The Global Oral Health Interest Group of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (GOHIG-CUGH) published recommended competencies to support development of competency-based global health education in dental schools. However, there has been no comprehensive, systematically derived, or broadly accepted framework for creating and delivering competency-based global health education to dental students. This article describes the results of a collaborative workshop held at the 2016 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Annual Session & Exhibition designed to build on the GOHIG-CUGH competencies and start to develop systematic approaches for their practical application. Workshop organizers developed a preliminary theoretical framework for guiding the development of global health in dental education, grounded in published research. Collectively, workshop participants developed detailed outcomes for the theoretical framework with a focus on three educational practices: didactic, experiential, and research learning and how each can meet the competencies. Participants discussed learning objectives, keys to implementation, ethical considerations, challenges, and examples of success. Outcomes demonstrated that no educational practice on its own meets all 33 recommended competencies for dental students; however, the three educational practices combined may potentially cover all 33. Participants emphasized the significance of sustainable approaches to student learning for both students and communities, with identified partners in the communities to collaborate on the development, implementation, evaluation, and long-term maintenance of any student global health activity. These findings may represent early steps toward professional consensus and best practices for global health in dental education in the United States.

Integrating Competency‐Based Didactic and Experiential Global Health Learning for Dental Students: The Global Health Learning Helix Model

“…The analysis showed four main types of learning modalities: expert knowledge, discussion, field experience, and comparisons to home (U.S.) health care system (Table 1). The participants often cited both discussion and expert knowledge, which are primarily didactic learning modalities 24 . Another learning modality—first‐hand experience in the field—represented experiential learning 24,25 .…”

“…The participants often cited both discussion and expert knowledge, which are primarily didactic learning modalities 24 . Another learning modality—first‐hand experience in the field—represented experiential learning 24,25 . A learning modality defined as “comparisons to home health care system” can be related to both didactic and experiential learning.…”

“…A workshop, described by Seymour et al., at the 2016 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Annual Session recommended 33 global health competencies for dental students, which could be met through three types of educational practice: didactic, experiential, and research 24 . Each learning method can potentially reinforce students’ competence.…”

“…Studies in pharmacy and psychotherapy that integrated experiential and didactic methods found the two methods reciprocally enhanced student learning 29,30 . In our previous study, we found that a combination of educational practices was required for comprehensive, competency‐based global health learning in dental education 24 . In 2013, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) developed an elective didactic global health course 9 .…”

Global Health Education Programs in the Americas: A Scoping Review

“…The partnership among universities (two or more), such as in undergraduate programs or multiple degrees, was pointed out as a success factor in cases reported in this review [13,32,33]. This partnership should not only take into account bureaucratic and systematic aspects but also promote concordance between the cultural differences involved in the experience, valuing local aspects.…”