O-HEALTH-EDU: A viewpoint into the current state of Oral Health Professional education in Europe: Part 1: Programme-level data

Jonathan Dixon (Corresponding Author), James Field, Sibylle Vital, Maria van Harten, Valerie Roger-Leroi, Julia Davies, Maria Cristina Manzanares-Cespedes, Ilze Akota, Denis Murphy, Corrado Paganelli, Gabor Gerber, Barry Quinn, Stephanie Tubert-Jeannin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
5 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Introduction: Current legislation leaves Oral Health Professional (OHP) education open to wide interpretation and may result in significant variation in educational practice and resultant professional attributes across Europe. Data regarding the current state of OHP education across Europe is limited. The aim of Part 1 of this series is to provide programme-level data for Primary Dental Degree Programmes, Dental Hygiene and Postgraduate Education. Methods: A 91-item questionnaire was developed following the Delphi method. The questionnaire and the Articulate glossary of OHP education terms were developed concurrently to facilitate a common understanding of language. Piloting was performed in multiple stages and included institutions internal and external to the research group. The questionnaire was uploaded online and converted to a data hub, allowing dental schools to control their own data and update the data provided whenever they wish. All ADEE member schools (n = 144) were invited to provide data. Forty questions relating to school details, Primary Dental Degree Programmes, Dental Hygiene and Postgraduate Education were included in this part of the series. Results: Seventy-one institutions from 25 European countries provided data between June 2021 and April 2023, which represents a response rate of 49.3% of ADEE members. Programme-level data for Primary Dental Degree Programmes, Dental Hygiene and Postgraduate Education is presented including programme length, funding, languages and fees, student numbers and demographics, student admission and selection processes and permission to practice after graduation. Conclusion: This series of papers, as far as the authors are aware, are the first attempts to build a comprehensive picture of the current state of OHP education in Europe. A comprehensive view of the state of OHP education in Europe is not yet available but the O-Health-Edu data hub provides a means for all education providers in Europe to contribute data to reach this goal. It is anticipated that the data hub will be updated and built upon over time to continually establish a clearer picture of the state of OHP education in Europe.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)591-606
Number of pages16
JournalEuropean Journal of Dental Education
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2024

Keywords*

  • dental education
  • dental hygienists
  • Europe
  • Oral Health Professionals
  • survey

Field of Science*

  • 3.2 Clinical medicine
  • 5.3 Educational sciences

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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