Integration of Child Abuse-Neglect in the Pediatric Dental Trauma Curriculum: A Mixed-Method Observational Cohort Study.

Abstract

Background/aim: There is a lack of a comprehensive dental curriculum for teaching child abuse-neglect (CAN) with traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). The integration of problem-based learning (PBL) to discuss CAN cases within a pediatric or dental trauma curriculum has never been investigated. The aim of this mixed-method, observational cohort study was to investigate the impact of PBL on student performance and self-perceived benefits in a pediatric dental trauma curriculum with training on CAN.

Material and methods: The performance of two cohorts of students who received a comprehensive pediatric dental trauma curriculum with or without CAN case discussion in a PBL format was studied. A t-test compared scores and numbers of attempts on CAN and TDI examinations between cohorts with or without PBL case discussions on CAN. A voluntary three-question survey assessed students' perceived learning benefits. Differences in survey agreement were analyzed using the Mantel-Haenszel ordinal Chi-square test. Pearson's correlation assessed associations between scores (α = 0.05).

Results: CAN case discussion in the PBL format in a pediatric dental trauma curriculum significantly improved the students' scores on CAN (p = 0.02) and TDIs (p = 0.03) examinations. However, the first-time pass rates were improved for the CAN examination only (p = 0.003), with no correlation between the two examinations. A significantly higher proportion of students in the cohort with CAN case discussions in the PBL format reported the experience as beneficial (p = 0.04) and the discussed cases as appropriate for learning (p = 0.018).

Conclusion: Discussion of CAN cases in the PBL format significantly improved students' knowledge and self-perceived learning benefits. Students' knowledge about different domains of dental trauma should be independently evaluated.