Enhancing Knowledge And Skills In The Field Of Hygiene Among Dentistry Students

Abstract

Dentistry students attend during their medical studies at Faculty of Dental Medicine from Cluj-Napoca, Romania a module of Hygiene, field of Preventive medicine which includes subjects regarding health promotion and disease prevention, nutrition and food hygiene, environmental health and hospital hygiene. The faculty offers education in Romanian as well as in English and French. This paper presents tools used for enhancing knowledge and skills in the field of Hygiene among students from English section of the Faculty of Dentistry from Cluj-Napoca. It includes lectures and practical activities comprised of presentations, case studies, demonstrations, individual and group work. Moreover, one activity includes the work in groups in order to collect information, organise and make a presentation in front of the colleagues about a subject in the field of Hygiene. A process evaluation of this approach of involving students in preparation and presentation of a subject was performed by means of anonymous questionnaires among 43 dentistry students from the third year in 2017/2018.The results show that the majority of participants considered useful and very useful the involvement in finding information about a subject of preventive medicine as well as the working in groups, while more than two thirds considered useful or very useful the preparation and making the presentations in front of the colleagues. The active involvement of students in activities related to subjects of Hygiene stimulates their awareness, knowledge and skills in this field which covers several important domains highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations.

Keywords: Dentistry studentseducational toolsHygiene

Introduction

The United Nations was adopting in 2015 a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, 2015). It contains the following goals:

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Problem Statement

Medical students and doctors could be involved in several actions of education and counselling of patients for healthy lifestyle promotion as well as activities of health promotion and disease prevention in different settings, support for public health and preventive medicines programs and policies (Bartholomew, Parcel, Kok, & Gottlieb, 2006; World Health Organization, 2007; World Health Organization, 2013; World Health Organization, 2017). Several studies from Romania underline the need of people and communities for such approaches and the medical university curricula should play an important role in stimulating knowledge and skills in these fields (Lotrean, 2008; Vigu, Stanciu, Lotrean, & Campian 2018; Lotrean, Ailoaiei, & Torres- Mejia 2013; Florea, Ţalu, &Ţalu, 2009).

Dentistry students attend during their third year of medical studies at Faculty of Dental Medicine from Cluj-Napoca, Romania a module of Hygiene, field of Preventive medicine which includes subjects regarding health promotion and disease prevention, nutrition and food hygiene, environmental health, as well as hospital hygiene, covering several important domains highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. The faculty offers education in Romanian as well as in English and French.

Research Questions

The research questions rely on what kind of educational methods could be used to enhance knowledge and skills in the field of Preventive Medicine as well as how they are perceived by the target group-dentistry students.

Purpose of the Study

The present paper presents tools used for enhancing knowledge and skills in the field of Hygiene among dentistry students from English section of the Faculty of Dental Medicine from Cluj-Napoca and assess the opinions of the students with regard to approaches used during the educational process.

Research Methods

Educational tools included lectures (14 hours/university year) as well as practical activities (14 hours/university year) comprised of presentations, case studies, demonstrations, individual and group work. Moreover, in the period 2013-2018 in each university year students were involved in one activity which included the work in groups in order to collect information, organise and make a presentation in front of the colleagues about a subject in the field of Hygiene. A process evaluation of this approach of involving students in preparation and presentation of a subject was performed by means of anonymous questionnaires among 43 dentistry students from the third year in the academic year 2017/2018. All students from the third year participating in the module of Hygiene were asked immediately after performing this activity to fill in the questionnaire; the response rate was 86%.

Findings

The lectures and practical activities presented to students during the module of Hygiene included themes regarding several issues :

Conclusion

During the module of Hygiene, the dentistry students from English section of Faculty of Dental Medicine from Cluj-Napoca, Romania learn several issues related to health promotion and disease prevention, nutrition and food hygiene, environmental health and hospital hygiene. There are used several educational tools in order to stimulate students’ awareness, knowledge and skills in this field which covers several important domains highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. They include lectures as well as practical activities comprised of presentations, case studies, demonstrations, individual and group work.

Evaluation of students’ opinions about educational aproaches and materials give insights which are helpful for the guidance of the educational process (Florea, 2018). This paper presents content and educational tools used during the module of Hygiene for dentistry students and give a special attention to the process evaluation of an educational activity comprising the envolvement of students in group work for finding information, preparing and making a presentation about a subject in the field of preventive medicine. The results show that students apreciated positevely this approach; this underlynes the oportunity to continue it in the future, together with other activities which stimulate active involvement of students in activities related to subjects of Hygiene, as a way of enhancing not only their knowledge, but also their vision, interest and skills in this field.

References

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