Interprofessional Collaboration to Develop and Deliver Domestic Violence Curriculum to Dental Students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Domestic violence (DV) is a serious social problem that impacts significantly on communities globally. While dentists are uniquely positioned to identify patients who experience DV, there is limited content specifically addressing the issue in their undergraduate training. James Cook University (JCU) dental students revealed this gap, and, in response, an interprofessional collaboration between JCU Social Work, JCU Dentistry and the Cairns Regional Domestic Violence Service was established to codesign and deliver the Dentists and Domestic Violence—Recognise, Respond and Refer program, evaluated through Participatory Action Research (PAR) cycles. The program is informed by critical and feminist social work theory with a gendered analysis of DV. The authors present the program’s evolution and examine the four elements identified as central to its success: interprofessional collaboration, critical and feminist theory and gendered analysis, scaffolded content, and skills-based activities. This article will provide a guide for others starting work in this space. IMPLICATIONS Designing and implementing an interprofessional domestic violence curriculum informed by critical theory and tailored for dental students’ can help meet their learning needs. Collaboratively educating dental students to recognise and respond to domestic violence cases will enable appropriate clinical interactions with patients who are victim-survivors of domestic violence and improve the quality of referrals and interactions with community support services. Undertaking evaluation research that guides effective domestic violence training for students across disciplines contributes to addressing domestic violence.