J Dent Educ. 70(5): 558-565 2006
© 2006 American Dental Education Association
Milieu in Dental School and Practice |
Child Abuse and Neglect: Dental and Dental Hygiene Students’ Educational Experiences and Knowledge
John E. Thomas, B.A.;
Lloyd Straffon, D.D.S., M.S.;
Marita Rohr Inglehart, Dr. phil.habil.
Key words: child abuse, child neglect, dental education, dental hygiene education, pedodontics, curriculum, legal responsibility, ethics
Submitted for publication 09/13/05;
accepted 01/23/06
The objective of this study was to explore dental and dental hygiene students’ educational experiences and knowledge concerning child abuse/neglect. Questionnaire data were collected from 233 dental (116 male/117 female; response rate=54.82 percent) and seventy-six dental hygiene students (all female; response rate=76.77 percent). Of those surveyed, 94.7 percent of the dental hygiene and 70.5 percent of the dental students reported having learned about child abuse/neglect in classroom settings, and 15.8 percent of the dental hygiene and 29.3 percent of the dental students reported having learned about it in clinical settings. Dental students reported more minutes of instruction about this topic than dental hygiene students (184.48 vs. 112.90 minutes; p=.006). Only 5.5 percent of the dental and 16.7 percent of the dental hygiene students defined child abuse correctly; 32.2 percent of the dental and 13.2 percent of the dental hygiene students did not know their legal responsibility concerning reporting child abuse; and 82.4 percent of the dental and 78.9 percent of the dental hygiene students did not know where to report child abuse. Dental care providers are likely to encounter child abuse and neglect in their professional lives and are legally required to respond to these matters. Dental and dental hygiene curricula should be revisited to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this professional task.
Copyright © 2006 by the American Dental Education Association.
