Satisfaction of Primary Healthcare Dentists after the Completion of a Distance Learning Course in Pediatric Dentistry
Abstract
Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the level of satisfaction of dentists working in primary healthcare (PHC) with a Distance learning (DL) course in pediatric dentistry offered by the TeleHealthRS center, and to the investigate possible associations between the variables indicative of their satisfaction and their performance on the questionnaires applied before and after the course.
Methods: The course was offered in 2015 by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) together with the TeleHealthRS center in Brazil. Data were collected on the participants’ personal and professional profile, their pre- and post-course knowledge about pediatric dentistry, and their satisfaction with the course. Student's t-test and the ANOVA test were used to assess the possible associations between the variables indicative of their satisfaction and their performance on the questionnaires applied before and after the course.
Results: Overall, the participants were satisfied with the course, however, no statistically significant association was found between the variables indicative of their satisfaction and the grades they earned on the pre- and post-course questionnaires.
Conclusion: The available pediatric dentistry course received positive evaluations from the participants, constituting a possible strategy for the qualification of primary care dentists. Future studies are warranted to further investigate the expectations of DL course participants, aiming to enhance the quality of future editions of this learning modality for pediatric dentistry contents.
2. Haddad AE, Skelton-Macedo MC, Abdala V et al (2015). Formatives second opin-ion: qualifying health professionals for the Unified Health System through the Brazilian Telehealth Program. Telemed J E Health, 21(2): 138-42.
3. Tomlinson J, Shaw T, Munro A et al (2013). How does tele-learning compare with other forms of education delivery? A sys-tematic review of tele-learning educational outcomes for health professionals. N S W Public Health Bull, 24(2):70-5.
4. Logan MK, Parker C, Hoglund DH et al (2012). A roundtable discussion: embrac-ing the mobile revolution. Biomed Instrum Technol, Suppl:10-7.
5. Haddad AE, Bönecker M, Skelton-Macedo MC (2014). Research in the field of health, Dentistry, Telehealth and Teleden-tistry. Braz Oral Res, 28: S1806-83242014000100003.
6. Camargo LB, Aldrigui JM, Imparato JC et al (2011). E-learning used in a training course on atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) for Brazilian dentists. J Dent Educ, 75(10):1396-401.
7. Drake K, Mulgrew B, Gardiner P, Ireland T, Sandy JR (2009). An Evaluation of the Effects of a Web-based Modular Teach-ing Programme, Housed within a Virtual Learning Environment on Orthodontic Training for Specialist Registrars. J Orthod, 36(3):167-76
8. Maximino LC, Picolini-Pereira MM, Car-valho JLB (2014). Telegenetics: applica-tion of a tele-education program in genet-ic syndromes for Brazilian students. J Appl Oral Sci, 22(6):477-83
9. Georgsson M, Staggers N (2016). Quantify-ing usability: an evaluation of a diabetes mHealth system on effectiveness, effi-ciency, and satisfaction metrics with asso-ciated user characteristics. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 23:5–11
10. Ariana A, Amin M, Pakneshan S, Dolan-Evans E, Lam AK (2016). Integration of Traditional and E-Learning Methods to Improve Learning Outcomes for Dental Students in Histopathology. J Dent Educ, 80(9):1140-8
11. Bavaresco CS, Bragança SG, D'Avila OP et al (2018). Pediatric Dentistry in Primary Healthcare: Creation, Development, and Evaluation of a Distance Education Course. Telemed J E Health, 24(8):624-630.
12. Sinclair P, Kabke A, Jones TL (2015). The Effectiveness of Internet Based e-learning on Clinical Behavior and Patient Outcomes: A Systematic Review Protocol. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep, 13(1):52-64
13. Carrard VC, Martins MA, Molina-Bastos CG, Gonçalves MR (2017). WhatsApp: a telemedicine platform for facilitating re-mote oral medicine consultation and im-proving clinical examinations-some con-siderations. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol, 123(3):408.
14. Klein KP, Miller KT, Brow MW, Proffit WR (2011). In-office Distance Learning for Practitioners. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Or-thop, 140: 126 – 32.
15. Mehta S, Clarke F, Fleming OS (2016). An assessment of student experiences and learning based on a novel undergraduate e-learning resource. Br Dent J, 12;221(3):131-6.
16. Alonge OK, Narendran S (2003). Opinions about oral cancer prevention and early detection among dentists practicing along the Texas-Mexico border. Oral Dis, 9:41-5
17. Clovis JB, Horowitz AM, Poel DH (2002). Oral and pharyngeal cancer: knowledge and opinions of dentists in British Co-lumbia and Nova Scotia. J Can Dent Assoc, 68(7):415-20.
18. Hertrampf K, Wenz HJ, Koller M, Wiltfang J (2012). Comparing dentists’ and the public’s awareness about oral cancer in a community-based study in Northern Germany. J Craniomaxillofac Surg, 40(1):28-32.
Files | ||
Issue | Vol 48 No 8 (2019) | |
Section | Original Article(s) | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v48i8.2982 | |
Keywords | ||
Pediatric dentistry Satisfaction Deciduos teeth Primary healthcare Distance learning |
Rights and permissions | |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |