Abstract
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) has previously been recognized as a major public health issue. Oral healthcare providers, such as dentists, are crucial to the screening and identifying of individuals experiencing IPV, since most injuries occur in the head and neck region. A lack of knowledge and awareness regarding teaching and learning about IPV in dental school curricula has been identified. Based upon the overall lack of knowledge, the objective of this study was to conduct a longitudinal assessment of knowledge, awareness, and beliefs regarding IPV among dental students in their first year of education. Methods: All students (n = 245) from three consecutive, first-year dental student cohorts (n = 81, n = 82, n = 82) were provided a brief and voluntary in-class survey in conjunction with an instructional workshop. The survey included questions designed to ascertain knowledge, awareness, and beliefs regarding IPV as a healthcare and dental issue before and after the instructional session. Differences in responses to the questions before and after the IPV educational workshop were measured using paired t-tests. Results: A total of n = 232 completed pre- and post-responses were received from all three first-year dental student cohorts (n = 76, n = 80, n = 76), representing an overall 94.6% response rate. Analysis of these data showed that the student population was predominantly male and white (non-minority), aged in their mid- to late twenties, with most students reporting no previous IPV education. The few students reporting previous IPV education were mainly younger (<25 years), which may represent more recent endeavors to increase awareness of IPV among students currently attending colleges and universities. Conclusions: The results of this study may suggest that information-specific seminars within the curriculum might be adequate to provide dental students with awareness and knowledge of IPV and specific information regarding local resources and referrals for any patients experiencing IPV.
Highlights
This study demonstrated significant differences in the pre-survey between male and female perceptions regarding whether domestic violence (DV) and Intimate partner violence (IPV) are healthcare issues, which may reflect the findings of other students among medical and nursing graduates and professional students [30,31,32]
It is critically important that healthcare curricula address the differences in perception and education of all students with regard to DV and IPV, when it comes to the differences and gaps between awareness and recognition among males and females and how these differences may disproportionately affect decisions to provide referrals and support to patients in need [33,34,35]
This study provides a longitudinal assessment of dental student knowledge and awareness of DV and IPV, this was institution-specific and was not performed in multiple sites to determine whether this is more broadly generalizable
Summary
Intimate partner violence (IPV) has previously been recognized as a major public health issue among dental and oral healthcare professionals [1,2]. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has previously been recognized as a major public health issue Oral healthcare providers, such as dentists, are crucial to the screening and identifying of individuals experiencing IPV, since most injuries occur in the head and neck region. Results: A total of n = 232 completed pre- and post-responses were received from all three first-year dental student cohorts (n = 76, n = 80, n = 76), representing an overall 94.6% response rate Analysis of these data showed that the student population was predominantly male and white (non-minority), aged in their mid- to late twenties, with most students reporting no previous IPV education.
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