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Pandemic Preparedness in Dental Education: A U.S-Based National Survey.

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OBJECTIVES The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for pandemic preparedness (PP) in health professions training. We aimed to [1] establish a current profile on curricular content of PP in U.S.… Click to show full abstract

OBJECTIVES The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for pandemic preparedness (PP) in health professions training. We aimed to [1] establish a current profile on curricular content of PP in U.S. dental schools, and [2] examine how schools were adapting their curricula in response to COVID-19. METHODS An online survey was developed and sent to senior leadership to all 66 CODA-accredited U.S. dental schools including Deans of Academic or Clinical Affairs from November 2020-February 2021. Questions addressed PP curricular content, teaching methods, and evaluation. Participants were asked about the barriers and facilitators for the inclusion of this content. The survey also included questions on redeployment of the clinical workforce in response to the pandemic. RESULTS The response rate was 31.8% (n = 21) with representation from every U.S Census Bureau-designated division. While all responding dental schools agreed that dental professionals can play an important role during pandemics, 38.1% reported including content on pandemic preparedness into their pre- or post-doctoral curriculum. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 47.6% indicated redeployment of their clinical workforce to participate in disaster life support, assisting physicians in COVID-19 cases, and assisting hospitals with personal protective equipment (PPE). CONCLUSION There was general agreement that dental professionals can play an important role during pandemics. The participating US dental schools responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by integrating novel clinical activities. More efforts are required to include PP in dental education. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords: survey; dental education; pandemic preparedness; dental schools

Journal Title: Journal of dental education
Year Published: 2022

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