Abstract
Background:New education programs are developing to improve global health awareness. Dental students have demonstrated interest in international settings but are largely unaware of global health topics. The Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health of the University of Washington (UW) and Harvard School of Dental Medicine expanded a competency-based global health curriculum (Global Health Starter Kit) by integrating it within the UW School of Dentistry (UW SOD) existing elective course “Global Oral Health” to undergraduates, pre-, and doctorate students from the UW SOD and Public Health. The study objective was to evaluate the curriculum effectiveness by assessing 1) Knowledge and Attitudes (survey), and 2) Didactic coursework (global trends, global goals, primary care, social determinants and risks, and ethics and sustainability).Methods:Eligibility included enrolled students with both pre- and post-assessments. Descriptive statistics were conducted to present demographic data. Significant changes on survey and didactic evaluations were analyzed with paired t-tests (p < 0.05).Findings:The population (N = 15) represented 88% of the class. All Knowledge categories had a significant increase (p < 0.05), except in the topic of tropical diseases. At baseline, Attitudes categories had high scores and did not significantly increase by the end of the course. Even though all Didactic categories improved, only Social Determinants and Risks showed a significant increase (p < 0.01).Conclusion:Competency-based global health learning can be implemented in the dental curriculum. While the study shows promising results, efforts to identify areas for improvement as well as considerations of the institution’s culture need to be assessed and addressed for each teaching cycle.
Highlights
New education programs are developing to improve global health awareness
The Global Burden Study found that oral diseases accounted for 17 million years lived with disability (YLDs) worldwide and approximately 17,000 Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) [2]
A recent survey of dental students showed that 83% of respondents had an interest in volunteering in an international setting while in school, and 92% showed interest for after graduation [8], yet the majority were unaware of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) basic package of oral care, the role of existing programs and services, or research in global oral health [9]
Summary
New education programs are developing to improve global health awareness. Dental students have demonstrated interest in international settings but are largely unaware of global health topics. As interest, funding, and mobilization of projects in global healthcare increase, new programs are developing in dental, medical, and pharmaceutical curriculums to address awareness of global health in the health professions [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. A recent survey of dental students showed that 83% of respondents had an interest in volunteering in an international setting while in school, and 92% showed interest for after graduation [8], yet the majority were unaware of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) basic package of oral care, the role of existing programs and services, or research in global oral health [9]. Integrating competency-based global health into the dental curriculum will increase an understanding of the current global environment, raise awareness for the burden of oral disease, and create opportunities for collaboration and partnerships with existing programs, research, and communities. Increasing accessibility of global oral health knowledge to students will provide an opportunity for students to network, mirroring the reality of a multidisciplinary health workforce
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