Perceived Preparedness of Recent Dental Graduates in Recognising, Responding and Referring Patients who have Experienced Domestic Violence

Miss Nausheen Mohamed Muhajir¹

¹James Cook University, Smithfield , Australia

Objectives:

1. Investigate whether the alumni feel more prepared following the DDV-RRR educational program
2. Evaluating the difference in self-perceived preparedness between 2016 and 2017 dental graduates
3. Ascertain participants’ knowledge, perceived gaps in education and understanding of application in practice

Design: Within a participatory action framework, a reliable and validated online survey with 17 core questions was distributed by email to evaluate the difference in self-perceived preparedness between 2016 and 2017 BDS graduates. The hypothesis was 2017 graduates would have a higher perception of preparedness than their 2016 counterparts, having participated in a more current version of the program.

Results: Independent sample T-tests were conducted via SPSS to analyse responses. The 2017 cohort demonstrated an increased perceived preparedness in recognizing, responding and referring patients who experienced domestic violence, thereby proving our hypothesis correct. The majority of respondents identified that the program has made a positive and significant impact on their graduate practice. Feedback from the graduates on the program were largely positive and constructive. The results confirmed our hypothesis since 2017 graduates felt more prepared than their 2016 counterparts.

Conclusions: The program has made a positive and significant impact on graduates. Ongoing evaluation and co-designing will ensure that it continually meets the needs of the students.

Implications for public health: Findings of this study can inform domestic violence continuing professional development (CPD) programs to prepare dentists who can manage patients who are experiencing DV.

Biography:

This project was conducted by fourth year dental students Nausheen Mohamed Muhajir, Aviral Aggarwal, Gurleen Boparai, Manesha Mahendran and John Dawoud under the supervision of Dr Croker and Dr Carrington at James Cook University. This project was presented at “Are You Remotely Interested Conference” in 2018.

This project evaluated the Dentistry Domestic Violence Recognise, Respond and Refer programme (DDV-RRR) program that is run at James Cook University for Year 3 to 5 dental students to equip students to manage situations where they see patients who have experienced domestic violence. The participants of the study are 2016 and 2017 BDS graduates who have undergone DDV-RRR training.