Senior Lecturer, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
Professor and Dean, Department of Periodontology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
F1000Res. 2023 Jun 27;11:476. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.111130.3. eCollection 2022.
Enhancing oral health care services provided through inter-professional collaboration between medical and dental practitioner is important, and even essential. The purpose of this study is to assess the attitude toward and knowledge of medical-dental collaborative practice among medical students attending colleges in Southern India.
A cross sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among medical students and interns of medical colleges in coastal South India with prior information and permission. The questionnaire consisted of 11 questions to assess attitude toward and knowledge of medical-dental collaborative practice. The demographic backgrounds of participants were also recorded. Chi square test was employed for data analysis. The responses obtained were correlated with age, gender and year of study of participants using Pearson's correlation test Results: A total 250 questionnaires were distributed and 234 responses were appropriately completed. Most of the students agreed that oral health was an integral part of systemic health, however participants disagreed on attending compulsory rotation in dentistry at a statistically significant level (p<0.05), moreover participants did not agree with physicians having an active role in motivating their patients for regular dental check-up. 82% of the medical students believe that dental check-up should be included in health packages under health insurance. A statistically significant (p<0.05) difference was observed among 3 year & 4 year students and interns and also it was found that female students provided more positive responses towards medical-dental collaboration.
Even though medical students showed fairly positive attitudes and knowledge towards dentistry, the analysis within the study groups showed that knowledge and attitudes regarding the collaborative practice worsened over the academic years among the medical students. In order to destigmatize and foster interdisciplinary collaboration which would contribute to higher resource efficiency and the standard of care, continuing education in both the disciplines would be highly beneficial.
加强医疗和牙科从业者之间的专业合作提供的口腔保健服务非常重要，甚至是必要的。本研究的目的是评估印度南部医学院学生对医学-牙科合作实践的态度和知识。
在印度南部沿海的医学院对医学生和实习医生进行了横断面问卷调查，事先获得了信息和许可。问卷包括 11 个问题，以评估对医学-牙科合作实践的态度和知识。还记录了参与者的人口统计学背景。采用卡方检验进行数据分析。使用 Pearson 相关检验分析参与者的年龄、性别和学习年限与反应之间的相关性。
共发放了 250 份问卷，有 234 份得到了适当的回复。大多数学生认为口腔健康是全身健康的一个组成部分，但在参加强制性牙科轮转这一点上，参与者的意见存在统计学差异（p<0.05），此外，参与者不同意医生在激励患者定期进行牙科检查方面发挥积极作用。82%的医学生认为牙科检查应该包含在健康保险的健康套餐中。在 3 年制和 4 年制学生和实习医生之间观察到统计学显著（p<0.05）差异，也发现女学生对医学-牙科合作的反应更为积极。
尽管医学生对牙科表现出相当积极的态度和知识，但在研究组内的分析中发现，医学生的知识和对合作实践的态度在学业期间恶化。为了消除偏见，促进跨学科合作，提高资源效率和护理标准，两个学科的继续教育将非常有益。
