Knowledge and perception of palliative care among final year undergraduate dental students in Malaysia / Reenaraj Kaur Sandhu Gurnam Singh

Reenaraj Kaur, Sandhu Gurnam Singh (2024) Knowledge and perception of palliative care among final year undergraduate dental students in Malaysia / Reenaraj Kaur Sandhu Gurnam Singh. Undergraduates thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Background: Patients in palliative care need specialized dental attention encompassing operative and preventive care, as well as emotional support. However, some dentists lack the requisite knowledge. Thus, palliative care training among future dentists is vital in maintaining oral hygiene, conducting examinations, and addressing potential complications for these patients. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to: i) assess the knowledge and training received about palliative care among dental students, ii) to assess students’ perception on the subject of palliative care and the need to introduce this subject in dental undergraduate curriculum, and iii) to compare the level of knowledge and perception on palliative care training between students in universities with and without Special Care Dentistry (SCD) in their curriculum. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study used a self-administered online questionnaire (via Google Forms) to assess the adequacy and perception of palliative care teaching among Malaysian dental students. After the pilot study, the final questionnaire was distributed in six universities in Malaysia, consisting of three with special care dental training and three without. Participants answered true/false questions assessing their knowledge of palliative care (10-items) and a 5-point Likert scale for perceptions (5-items). Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis was used for data analysis. Results: The questionnaire was sent out to the whole sample of 346, of which 298 participated, giving an overall response rate of 86%. Most students received palliative care training through lectures (88.3%). The students’ knowledge on the definition, aim and common oral conditions in palliative care was moderate. However, 62.8% of them failed to understand that palliative care does not postpone death. There were 79.9% of the students who were unable to understand the concept of patient centered communication in palliative care. Also, some of them (25.8%) did not know the correct position when providing oral hygiene care and 22.5% of them did not know that morphine is a common pain control medication in palliative care. Most of the students agreed to have palliative care included as part of their undergraduate syllabus and dentists should be included as part of the palliative care team. Universities with SCD in the syllabus had a significant association (p-value = 0.002) with the perception of dentists joining a palliative care team, by majority of student who strongly agreed (27.3%) as compared to universities without SCD (15.3%). Conclusion: There was inadequate knowledge in certain aspects of palliative care among the students. The knowledge and perception of the subject of palliative care was better in students in universities that offered SCD in their syllabus. Therefore, there is a need to introduce palliative care in Malaysian dental undergraduate syllabus either through SCD subject or directly as a topic on its own.

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