Students’ Comfort Level in Treating Vulnerable Populations and Future Willingness to Treat: Results Prior to Extramural Participation

Abstract

This study analyzed senior dental students' perceptions prior to extramural rotations for comfort and future willingness to treat patients with special needs and other vulnerable groups. The sample included 690 University of Iowa senior dental students who graduated from 1992 through 2004. These students completed a questionnaire concerning twelve vulnerable population groups. Logistic regression models were performed, using student comfort and future willingness to treat each group as the dependent variable. There was a wide percentage of range of comfort with these groups, yet there was no individual group that more than 60 percent of these students were willing to treat in their future practices. Generally, prior experience with the group had a positive impact on comfort level. When gender was included in the regression models, male students were more likely to express comfort. In all instances except one, experience had a positive influence on perceived future willingness to treat the associated group. However, younger graduates had a greater willingness to treat. When controlling for other variables within the future willingness to treat models, comfort was statistically significant only for HIV+/AIDS and non-English speaking groups. This study provides insight about comfort with and perceived future willingness to treat special needs and other vulnerable patient groups.

Barriers and facilitators to dental care among HIV‐Infected adults

“…Discrimination against HIV positive individuals in the dental setting was documented in the early days of the epidemic but has declined over the past few decades . Surprisingly, however, our results are consistent with other studies of dentists, dental students, and HIV‐positive patients that have documented the presence of persisting discrimination and refusal to provide dental services to these patients, especially amongst older and foreign dentists . Although the HIV epidemic is in its fourth decade of existence and the American Dental Association has stated that HIV‐positive patients can be treated safely in the dental setting, rendering denial of treatment as unethical, there is still a need for curriculum additions in dental schools and targeted education efforts in dental continuing education programs that educate the dental community, especially those who graduated from dental school a long time ago, about treating HIV‐positive patients…”

Knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among dental students of Jazan University, Kingdom Saudi Arabia

“…The proportion of our study subjects who expressed their willingness to treat HIV patients (45%) is comparable to 41.3% that has been observed among dental students of King Khalid University of Saudi Arabia (Alsamghan, 2012). However, studies from other regions of the world reported greater proportions of dental students willing to treat HIV patients (Seacat and Inglehart, 2003, Fotedar, 2013, Kuthy, 2005). Negative attitudes towards HIV patients in this study population is in accordance with previous studies among health care workers where very few subjects reported of ‘being in friendship with a friend who has AIDS (Al-Ghanim, 2005) and ‘accepting individuals with AIDS at work’ (Al-Mazrou et al, 2005).…”

Knowledge of and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS: a survey among dental students in Ajman, UAE

“…Another study in Nigeria showed that students did not have a proper understanding about HIV/AIDS knowledge and about a third of the students were not ready to treat HIV/AIDs patients . A study in Iowa revealed that the proportion willing to treat HIV/AIDS patients in future did not exceed 60% of the students surveyed . Prior dealings with HIV/AIDS patients, male gender, and younger age group were associated with the more positive attitudes of the students.…”