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- Title
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Education in US Dental Hygiene Programs: Results of a national survey.
- Authors
Morse, Heather; Eagle, Iwonka; McComas, Martha J.; Squarize, Christiane; Marti, Kyriaki C.; Munoz, Stephanie; Kavanagh, Nolan; Rulli, Danielle
- Abstract
Problem: Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are rising in popularity and carry considerable health risks. Dental professionals should be competent to assist patients with smoking cessation including ENDS, yet there is no standardized smoking cessation education in US dental hygiene education programs. Purpose: The study aimed to assess what content is included in US dental hygiene education programs' curricula about the harms and risks of ENDS, the use of ENDS as a smoking cessation aid, how ENDS could serve as a gateway to other tobacco use, the impact of ENDS on systemic and oral health, program directors' attitudes about the importance of ENDS to their programs' curricula, and barriers to incorporating ENDS content. Methods: A cross-sectional study of all 332 US dental hygiene education program directors obtained from the American Dental Hygienists' Association website was conducted in July 2018. A 25-question survey was developed, reviewed by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, pilot tested, and distributed electronically. Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVAs were used to evaluate the extent of inclusion of ENDS in curricula and variations between regions and program types. Results: A total of 141 surveys that broadly represented US dental hygiene education programs were completed for a response rate of 42%. Eighty-five percent of programs reported including smoking cessation education about ENDS. Directors had variable attitudes about teaching ENDS as a cessation modality. For example, 24% thought it was "extremely" important to teach ENDS for tobacco replacement while 23% thought it "not at all" important. By contrast, 94% thought it was "very" or "extremely" important to teach students about the harmful effects of ENDS and how to assist quit attempts. Despite nearly all agreeing that graduates should have ENDS knowledge, over half of programs cited a lack of faculty knowledge and confidence about teaching ENDS as barriers to incorporating it. To assess students' knowledge, respondents reported utilizing clinical competency testing (41%), objective standardized clinical examination (13%), proficiencies (30%), research papers (19%), standardized patient interviews (30%), and written tests (74%). The amount of time dedicated to smoking cessation education varied from 0 hours to over 30. Conclusions: The majority of dental hygiene education programs in the US include ENDS content in their smoking cessation education. However, they lack standardized course content and faculty training regarding ENDS. The inclusion of ENDS in educational programs should be carefully evaluated due to the need for additional research on ENDS and its potential smoking cessation benefit versus the harmful effects.
- Publication
Journal of Dental Hygiene, 2020, Vol 94, Issue 5, p61
- ISSN
1043-254X
- Publication type
Academic Journal