Social Justice Education in Dentistry: A Qualitative Analysis and Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Background: Social justice, empathy, and social responsibility are emerging themes in dentistry. Many dental faculties have started incorporating these concepts into their curriculum, but our knowledge of the effectiveness of these initiatives remains limited. Purpose: The objective of this study was to understand how students and educators perceive the role of social justice education, if any, in the undergraduate dentistry program. Methods: This qualitative study was performed by using semistructured interviews with students, professors, and clinical faculty at the Université de Montréal dental school from January to May 2020. Eighteen participants were recruited through purposeful sampling until saturation. The interviews were recorded and transcribed integrally. They were coded with QDA Miner 5.0 (Provalis). Thematic analysis was undertaken to elucidate emerging themes via qualitative methodology. Results: Five themes emerged from the results. Certain students were more inclined to be interested in social justice and participate in voluntary community-based activities. There were gaps in current teaching methods, including a lack of exposure to alternative treatment plans (e.g., extractions vs. endodontic treatments) better suited to patients’ financial or social situations. Some barriers to teaching were identified, the most important being a lack of time. Desired teaching of social justice would include increased awareness and active student participation and taking responsibility to motivate action to produce social change. The application of social justice in dentistry involves care that is accessible and adapted to a patient’s individual needs. Conclusion: The results of this study provide valuable insight for the development of a social justice education curriculum in dentistry that can be evaluated and validated to train socially competent dentists who can provide patient-centered care to the community. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this study can be used by dental educators and administrators who are looking to incorporate social justice education into their dental school undergraduate curriculum. The findings serve as a starting point to foster discussions and inspire change to reduce inequalities within the dental health care system.

Cultural topics with clinical implications needed in the dental curriculum to develop intercultural competence: A systematic review

“…23,30,32,34,[36][37][38]44,51,56,57,59 In the others, situations were exposed that implicitly represented microdiscrimination. 21,24,40,43,46,47,52,53,55,58 b. Recognition of structural disparities in care: in addition to the above, it is necessary to deepen and explain the ways in which disparities are manifested with minority groups.…”

“…23,26,37,38,39,56,57,59 Another inequality in care is attributed to social determinants, such as access barriers in remote areas, the lack of continuity in oral healthcare due to the high turnover of professionals, the absence of trained interpreters in clinical settings, and the prioritization of basic needs over oral care. 24,34,36,43,45,[47][48][49][51][52][53][54][55][56] It was also mentioned that there is a difference in criteria in the use of analgesic sedation, 30 which adds to the patient mistrust as a result of bad experiences in dental care, which translates into greater anxiety and fear when going to the dentist. 28,32,44,46 c. Respecting and understanding the patient's cultural patterns: 100% of the articles identified in this section emphasized the importance of respecting the patient's beliefs, customs, values, and autonomy.…”

“…28,32,44,46 c. Respecting and understanding the patient's cultural patterns: 100% of the articles identified in this section emphasized the importance of respecting the patient's beliefs, customs, values, and autonomy. The educational articles that were analyzed did mention educational strategies such as roleplaying, 21,26,33,38,41,43,45,49,57,59 service learning/ experiential learning/simulation, 21,24,32,33,34,36,41,49,54 reflective diary or writing, 23,24,36,37,41,49 debate, 23,26,[36][37][38][39]43,45 clinical cases, 26,38,45,57 traditional lecture 26,38,54,57 and interprofessional education 21,54 to develop Intercultural Competence, where the development of respect and understanding for the other is implicit. d...…”

Empathic Attitude of Dental Students from a Peruvian Public University Associated with Reading Habit: a Regression Analysis

“…Patients can develop certain attitudes due to the presence of the disease and the symptoms. Consequently, the professional must be involved and should develop their ability to understand and tolerate these ailments (19).…”

Social Justice in Dental Research

“…However, more research is needed to understand and address the barriers to equity in our dental students’ populations. To address this issue, Kontaxis and Esfandiari (2023) interviewed senior dental students, clinical instructors, and professors in a French-Canadian dental school on their perceptions of social justice and social justice education (SJE). Based on these interviews, the authors describe barriers to SJE, as well as administrative actions and teaching approaches that could lead to more effective social justice education outcomes ( Kontaxis and Esfandiari 2023 ).…”