Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in postgraduate periodontics programs in Saudi Arabia: A modified Delphi study.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain a validated consensus among expert periodontists in Saudi Arabia regarding end-of-periodontics-residency-training entrustable professional activities (EPAs) using a modified Delphi method.

Methods: The study consisted of two phases. A preliminary phase in which experts met and proposed an initial list of EPAs following an extensive literature review. The second phase consisted of two rounds of the modified Delphi method in which expert periodontists in Saudi Arabia determined the content validity of each EPA. This was determined with a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not important/relevant) to 5 (very important/relevant), and the mean score for each EPA was calculated. EPAs with a mean value of ≤ 4 or agreement rate among experts of less than 80% were excluded.

Results: An initial list of 40 EPAs was proposed. A total of 30 expert periodontists participated in the first round, and 24 participated in the second round of the modified Delphi method ratings. Most of the participants were program directors and represented different programs and cities in Saudi Arabia. Five EPAs were removed, and a final list of EPAs was produced based on the defined criteria. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.920, indicating high reliability.

Conclusions: A final list of 35 end-of-periodontics-training EPAs was produced. The findings of this study can serve as a valuable resource for curriculum development, assessments, and evaluation of periodontics training programs in Saudi Arabia.