Title: Dental Student HIV Education
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Caitlyn Wayment, MPH
Caitlyn Wayment, MPH
Caitlyn serves as the Grant Specialist and Professional Research Assistant for the HRSA Ryan White Part F Program housed under the Department of Community Dentistry and Population Health at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine (CU SDM).
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Science and Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she found her love of public health and attended the University of Michigan School of Public Health Department of Health Behavior and Health Education. Caitlyn graduated in April 2020 with her Masters of Public Health and joined the CU SDM research team in November 2020. She has worked on qualitative and quantitative research studies that focus on health disparities, the behavioral health workforce, and access to oral health.
Through her education and coursework, Caitlyn found a passion for dental health disparities, behavioral health, health care policy and delivery innovations, and interprofesional education and collaboration.
In her free time, Caitlyn loves to spend time with her family, a good book, and (most importantly) her rescue dog, Ollie.
Tamara Tobey, DDS
Tamara Tobey, DDS
As the Director of the Advanced Clinical Training and Service (ACTS) Program, Dr. Tobey focuses on ensuring fourth-year dental students receive training and practice experience providing dental services, under the supervision of practicing dentists, to individuals whose access to oral health services is constrained by financial, geographical, physical, or medical factors.
Through funding from the HRSA Ryan White Part F Program, Dr. Tobey is committed to improving oral health care access through community partnerships and dental student training. To do so, dental students at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine receive didactic and clinical learning experiences, as applied to patients living with HIV/AIDS, to improve their knowledge, stigmas, and experiences.
This project explores the impact didactic coursework has on dental students' experiences and knowledge providing oral health care for patients living with HIV/AIDS.
Video Presentation
Video Presentation
Abstract
Background: Provider knowledge and attitudes pertaining to providing care to vulnerable populations impacts the oral care of patient living with HIV (PLWH), but oral health providers often have inadequate knowledge or stigmatized attitudes towards PLWH.
Objective: To assess the impact of dental students participating in a lecture on medical management, oral health for persons living with HIV, and HIV prevention.
Methods: During the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, third year dental students at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine participated in a lecture presented by a provider at the Colorado and Mountain-West AIDS Education and Training Centers. Students completed pre- and post-intervention surveys which examined their HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and stigma towards HIV/AIDS, and educational experience.
Results: Our results of the pre-intervention survey included 113 respondents between the ages of 23-45 with an average knowledge score of 8.93 points out of 12. The post-intervention survey included 92 respondents between the ages of 24-45 reporting an average knowledge score of 9.05 points out of 12. A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare knowledge scores in the pre- and post-educational seminar. There was a significant difference in the scores for pre-intervention (M=8.25, SD =1.42) and post-intervention (M=8.88, SD=1.46) conditions; t=2.50, p=0.014. Preliminary analyses indicate students became less concerned about contracting HIV from patients and more confident in their knowledge regarding treating PLWH.
Conclusions: The addition of an educational session on treating PLWH not only increases knowledge about treating PLWH, but also has the potential to reduce stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs surrounding PLWH.
Implications. Given the impact this educational intervention has on dental students’ knowledge, attitudes, and experiences providing oral health care to patients living with HIV, future research and efforts should continue to expand and improve the education and training of future health professionals, specifically as it relates to treating and caring for diverse and underserved populations.
Source of Funding: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, Part F: Community-Based Dental Partnership Program (CBDPP)
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Institutional Review Board: The study is in process of being approved by the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Institutional Review Board (protocol code 21-4326, awaiting approval). Ethical review and approval are awaiting exempt approval due to research being conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings involving normal educational practices such as: research on regular or special education instructional strategies; OR research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.
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