Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with the decision to attend an academic post-graduation program by dental students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012, last-year undergraduate students from Dental Schools of Southern Brazil. A closed questionnaire was applied including questions grouped in three different blocks: pre-graduate, undergraduate period and future perspectives. The outcome was the decision to pursuit an academic post-graduation degree. Associations were tested using chi-squared test and chi-squared test for linear trends when appropriate. Multivariate Poisson regression was also performed. The sample was composed by 671 students (response rate of 69.9%, n=467). In relation to future perspectives, 68% of the interviewed students intended to attend a post-graduation program, but only 17.5% would choose a program with academic and research post-graduation program (Master and PhD programs). In the final model, students from public universities (PR 2.08, 95%CI 1.41-3.08) and students that received scientific initiation scholarship (PR 1.93 95%CI 1.14-3.27) presented a twice greater prevalence to seek academic post-graduate programs. Students with higher family incomes showed a lower prevalence to seek these programs (PR 0.50, 95%IC 0.28-0.90). Scholarships seem to encourage undergraduate students to pursue stricto sensu post-graduation.
Highlights
Brazil has more than 200 Dental Schools, with the largest dentists/total population ratio in the world [1]
From the 671 students enrolled in the last year
The present study investigated factors associated with pursuing an academic post-graduation course among last-year dental students from Southern Brazil
Summary
Brazil has more than 200 Dental Schools, with the largest dentists/total population ratio in the world [1]. Brazilian dental education has been based on transmitting knowledge focused on dental diseases and techniques rather than the needs of the Brazilian population and the dental educators, most of whom were practitioners rather than teachers, have been primarily oriented towards manual training. Professional training focused on a private clinic model that is unaffordable to most Brazilians and leads to an unacceptable overall oral epidemiological profile [2]. The number of post-graduation programs had an exponential growth in Brazil and this was observed in Dentistry [4]. To maintain the status of a respected scientifically based health profession, with a practice based on evidence, dentistry must be updated combining the scientific and technological advances within its educational and patient care systems [5]
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