Service‐learning's impact on dental students' attitude towards community service

Abstract

Introduction This study evaluated service-learning program’s impact on senior dental students’ attitude toward community service at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry. Experience gained through service-learning in dental school may positively impact dental students’ attitude toward community service that will eventually lead into providing care to the underserved. Materials and methods Two surveys (pre and post-test) were administered to 105 senior dental students. For the first survey (post-test), seventy six students out of 105 responded and reported their attitude toward community service immediately after the service-learning program completion. Three weeks later, fifty six students out of the 76 responded to the second survey (retrospective pre-test) and reported their recalled attitude prior to the program retrospectively. Results A repeated-measure mixed-model analysis indicated that overall there was improvement between pre-test and post-test. Scales of connectedness, normative helping behavior, benefits1, career benefits, and intention showed a significant pre-test and post-test difference. An association between attitude toward community service and student characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, and volunteer activity was also examined. Only ethnicity showed an overall significant difference. White dental students appear to have a differing perception of the costs of community service. Conclusions The service-learning program at VCU School of Dentistry has positively impacted senior dental students’ attitude toward community service.

The impact of outreach programs on academics development, personal development and civic responsibilities of dental students in Bhubaneswar city

“…Another study done by Fitch N.,[23] reported 96% of the participants became more aware of the needs of communities. Similarly a study done by Coe et al ,[24] reported that 63% more students participated in the community services and developed the need for it and Nowaiser et al ,[25] reported 80% of the respondents agreed that the dental community field experience made them aware of their roles, responsibilities toward the community and population needs.…”

Análise situacional do estágio curricular supervisionado nos cursos de graduação em Odontologia no Brasil: uma questão de interpretação

“…No estudo realizado em uma universidade norte americana, os pesquisadores ressaltaram que a vivência dos alunos com os problemas bucais reais da comunidade a qual estão inseridos, gera reflexões sobre a problemática enfrentada e a conscientização das diversidades culturais e étnicas 21 . Coe et al 22 ao empregar uma metodologia para analisar como o programa de ensino-serviço realizado na Virginia-EUA interfere na atitude dos acadêmicos para atenção a saúde bucal, concluíram que as atividades executadas tiveram impactos positivos em algumas dimensões, gerando benefícios para os participantes envolvidos. Pesquisas nacionais enfatizam as experiências e percepções dos graduandos sobre as atividades extramurais, e ressaltam a valorização dessa atividade para o comprometimento e engajamento dos discentes com as práticas de ensino, sendo o contato direto com a realidade e o contexto social, a principal característica de agregação de experiência profissional 5,7,23,24 .…”

A focus group study of chiropractic students following international service learning experiences

“…9,[11][12][13]17 The benefits of SL have included but are not limited to professional and doctor-patient communication, cultural competence/awareness, connectedness, normative helping behavior, career benefits, changes in knowledge and attitudes about older adults, awareness of service-providing agencies and community needs, increased awareness of the importance of public health, clinical confidence, utility of history and examination, transformational change, and a reported increase in positive influence on clinical skills 2 years post trip. 9,11,12,[17][18][19] Educational outcomes for SL have been suggested such as personal and interpersonal development, understanding and applying knowledge, engagement curiosity and reflective practice, critical thinking, perspective transformation, and citizenship. 20 Reflection of the experience is a key learning objective to achieve maximal educational benefits.…”

“…Service learning (SL) courses, defined as combining student educational goals with community needs, [9][10][11][12][13] are thought to provide students with the opportunity to gain clinical confidence in their respective fields. There is a paucity of evidence pertaining to SL in the chiropractic literature.…”