IADR Abstract Archives
Oral-Medical Health and Interprofessional Education in Malaysian Medical Schools
Objectives: Oral-Medical health (OMH) and Interprofessional (IP) education for medical practitioners is important to ensure effective multidisciplinary management of oral health (OH), an essential component of systemic health and quality of life. The study aims to determine the amount of training as well as perception of educators and students on OMH and IP education and practice in Malaysian medical schools.
Methods: An audio-recorded phone interview involving the Deputy Deans of Academic of Malaysian public medical schools (n=7, Response rate=63.6%) was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. On the other hand, a self-administered questionnaire (content-validated and pre-tested) survey was carried out, classroom-style, among final year medical students (n=527, Response rate=79.3%) of selected institutions. Qualitative data was analyzed via thematic analysis. Analysis of quantitative data was undertaken using SPSS (Chi-squared regression analysis, P≤0.01).
Results: Medical schools in Malaysia offered limited training in OMH and IP education, which was mostly integrated throughout the medical curriculum in an unstructured manner. Amongst the medical students, 94.5% of them have encountered patients presenting with OH problems, such as ulcer (75.7%), halitosis (65.7%) and edentulism (65.3%). A majority of students was comfortable in performing mouth examination (59.2%), giving oral hygiene instruction (56%), and deciding on dental referral (52%). Most students also believed that they should promote healthy diet (80.4%) and regular dental checkup (78.2%) as well as routinely perform OH screening (72.5%). Many students perceived that they received poor training in managing dental trauma (63.4%), but good training in smoking cessation counseling (55%). Most medical educators and students supported the need for OMH and IP education in the undergraduate medical curriculum.
Conclusions: This study provides valuable information that would direct the development of medical curriculum, aimed at improving OH through a holistic and multidisciplinary approach in patient care.
Methods: An audio-recorded phone interview involving the Deputy Deans of Academic of Malaysian public medical schools (n=7, Response rate=63.6%) was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. On the other hand, a self-administered questionnaire (content-validated and pre-tested) survey was carried out, classroom-style, among final year medical students (n=527, Response rate=79.3%) of selected institutions. Qualitative data was analyzed via thematic analysis. Analysis of quantitative data was undertaken using SPSS (Chi-squared regression analysis, P≤0.01).
Results: Medical schools in Malaysia offered limited training in OMH and IP education, which was mostly integrated throughout the medical curriculum in an unstructured manner. Amongst the medical students, 94.5% of them have encountered patients presenting with OH problems, such as ulcer (75.7%), halitosis (65.7%) and edentulism (65.3%). A majority of students was comfortable in performing mouth examination (59.2%), giving oral hygiene instruction (56%), and deciding on dental referral (52%). Most students also believed that they should promote healthy diet (80.4%) and regular dental checkup (78.2%) as well as routinely perform OH screening (72.5%). Many students perceived that they received poor training in managing dental trauma (63.4%), but good training in smoking cessation counseling (55%). Most medical educators and students supported the need for OMH and IP education in the undergraduate medical curriculum.
Conclusions: This study provides valuable information that would direct the development of medical curriculum, aimed at improving OH through a holistic and multidisciplinary approach in patient care.