IADR Abstract Archives
Dental education outreach in Australasia and the Pacific: What, why and how
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate educational outreach carried out by dental schools in Australasia and the Pacific; why, and how, people undertake dental education outreach, what has worked and what has not.
Methods: An online survey was emailed to the heads of schools and other staff members involved with outreach in 16 Universities in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Results: Responses were obtained from 14 people representing 11 schools. All respondents thought dental schools should engage in outreach and all of them had engaged in science outreach activities in the last 5 years. The number of activities held per year was variable, ranging from once a week to once a year. The majority of respondents (86%) considers their outreach programs to be regular. Among the reasons to conduct outreach programs, respondents cited: social responsibility, to increase understanding of dental science and oral health, and increase public exposure to, and education about, the profession. School children, general and high-need communities were commonly the main audience, but nursing homes, indigenous and rural communities, and refugees were also mentioned. Various types of activities were held, ranging from oral health screening, treatment and education of high-need communities, to targeted programmes involving hands-on science activities and displays. Most programmes were either not funded (43%) or funded internally (36%), although dental companies sometimes provided products. Lack of funding, staff availability and time were mentioned as the main barriers for undertaking outreach activities.
Conclusions: Collaborations among universities, centralised and prominent funding opportunities and platforms to share experiences and resources, and a greater incentive and engagement from the IADR, were mentioned as steps that could be taken to stimulate outreach programmes across the Australasia-Pacific region. This workshop session will be a first attempt to address some of these issues.
Methods: An online survey was emailed to the heads of schools and other staff members involved with outreach in 16 Universities in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Results: Responses were obtained from 14 people representing 11 schools. All respondents thought dental schools should engage in outreach and all of them had engaged in science outreach activities in the last 5 years. The number of activities held per year was variable, ranging from once a week to once a year. The majority of respondents (86%) considers their outreach programs to be regular. Among the reasons to conduct outreach programs, respondents cited: social responsibility, to increase understanding of dental science and oral health, and increase public exposure to, and education about, the profession. School children, general and high-need communities were commonly the main audience, but nursing homes, indigenous and rural communities, and refugees were also mentioned. Various types of activities were held, ranging from oral health screening, treatment and education of high-need communities, to targeted programmes involving hands-on science activities and displays. Most programmes were either not funded (43%) or funded internally (36%), although dental companies sometimes provided products. Lack of funding, staff availability and time were mentioned as the main barriers for undertaking outreach activities.
Conclusions: Collaborations among universities, centralised and prominent funding opportunities and platforms to share experiences and resources, and a greater incentive and engagement from the IADR, were mentioned as steps that could be taken to stimulate outreach programmes across the Australasia-Pacific region. This workshop session will be a first attempt to address some of these issues.