Dental students' self-evaluation comparison between dual dental education systems in Korea.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the satisfaction, educational linkage, and self-perceived competence of dental students enrolled in either 4 + 4 dental program, comprising an undergraduate degree and Doctor of Dental Surgery degree (DDS), or 3 + 4 program, which is a BS/DDS combined degree program, in the Korean dental education system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The survey questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was developed and validated by four dental education experts, consisting of satisfaction with undergraduate courses, the interconnection of undergraduate courses with the DDS curriculum, and self-assessed core competency for dental graduates. A total of 252 students provided informed consent and voluntarily responded to the survey, among whom 109 students were in the 3 + 4 system and 143 were in the 4 + 4 system. Cronbach's correlation analysis and independent t-test were conducted for each evaluation item. RESULTS: Students' overall satisfaction level with the undergraduate education was higher in the 4 + 4 system than in the 3 + 4 system (P = 0.003). Students enrolled in the 4 + 4 system recognized that natural sciences are more connected to the graduate-level DDS program (P <  0.001), while the 3 + 4 students recognized that studies in medicine are closely interconnected to the DDS program (P = 0.001). There was almost no statistically significant difference in the students' perception of competency between the two education systems. DISCUSSION: Even though this study analyzed the case of a single university operating both 3 + 4 and 4 + 4 systems, it can be used as the groundwork for developing new opportunities and models of dental education system.

Developing a clinical presentation dental education model and a pilot test.

INTRODUCTION: Accurate clinical decision-making of dentists should be based on their knowledge and experience. In the past 10 years, interest in competency-based dentistry education has rapidly increased, but there has been little attention paid to methods of improving dental education competency. The purpose of this study was to develop a clinical presentation education model that provides opportunities for students to practice problem-solving from the moment they greet the patient so that students can obtain the practical experience of competency-based education and the effectiveness of this model can be confirmed through pilot test. METHODS: This article is divided two parts: First, developing the clinical presentation dental education model (CPDEM) and Second, a pilot study adopted CPDEM. To confirm the effectiveness of this model, the students' satisfaction, their perception of self-achievement were analysed. RESULTS: Clinical presentation dental education model has been developed to provide practice-related education experience and provide linkage between basic science and clinical science. The result of applying this education model to 10 students as a pilot test was shown an overall high satisfaction level. In addition, self-achievement students' reported of all intended competencies was higher than for non-participating students of this model. CONCLUSIONS: This study focuses on practical education centring on clinical presentation. This model could get a meaningful and realistic experiences through the practice using clinical presentation of patients, use their metacognition for organizing and memorizing the patient's case by using concept map. It can be used as a future instructional method to enhance students' competency.

Research topics and trends in medical education by social network analysis.

BACKGROUND: As studies analyzing the networks and relational structures of research topics in academic fields emerge, studies that apply methods of network and relationship analysis, such as social network analysis (SNA), are drawing more attention. The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction of medical education subjects in the framework of complex systems theory using SNA and to analyze the trends in medical education. METHODS: The authors extracted keywords using Medical Subject Headings terms from 9,379 research articles (162,866 keywords) published in 1963-2015 in PubMed. They generated an occurrence frequency matrix, calculated relatedness using Weighted Jaccard Similarity, and analyzed and visualized the networks with Gephi software. RESULTS: Newly emerging topics by period units were identified as historical trends, and 20 global-level topic clusters were obtained through network analysis. A time-series analysis led to the definition of five historical periods: the waking phase (1963-1975), the birth phase (1976-1990), the growth phase (1991-1996), the maturity phase (1997-2005), and the expansion phase (2006-2015). CONCLUSIONS: The study analyzed the trends in medical education research using SNA and analyzed their meaning using complex systems theory. During the 53-year period studied, medical education research has been subdivided and has expanded, improved, and changed along with shifts in society's needs. By analyzing the trends in medical education using the conceptual framework of complex systems theory, the research team determined that medical education is forming a sense of the voluntary order within the field of medicine by interacting with social studies, philosophy, etc., and establishing legitimacy and originality.

Factors Affecting Abdominal Obesity: Analyzing National Data.

The purpose of this study is to understand the factors affecting abdominal obesity. A secondary data analysis was conducted to analyze 5262 individuals' data from the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The prevalence of obesity was slightly higher in men than women, while abdominal obesity was more prevalent in women. A higher correlation with obesity was observed in young and middle-aged individuals, unmarried individuals, urban residents, those with good subjective health, low-stress perception, moderate alcohol consumption, nonsmokers, regular aerobic exercisers, and those getting more than seven hours of sleep. In contrast, middle-aged and elderly individuals, married individuals, rural residents, those with an elementary school or lower education level, those with low-to-moderate income, those with fair or poor subjective health, high stress perception, nondrinkers, smokers, nonregular aerobic exercisers, and those getting less than seven hours of sleep had a higher correlation with abdominal obesity. Health education suggests that everyone should maintain healthy lifestyle habits, such as getting sufficient sleep, exercise, smoking cessation, and moderate drinking. Specifically, diverse health management support focusing on population groups with demographic factors related to the risk of obesity and abdominal obesity is necessary.

Brain-based medical education model for expert's clinical decision making.

PURPOSE: The expertise of medicians in clinical decision-making is very important since it improves the quality of medical services provided to patients. This study analyzed the characteristics of the decision-making process and confirmed clinicians' electroencephalography (EEG) characteristics by measuring their cerebral activity during clinical decision-making. This study aims to present learning directions for brain-based clinical decision-making to develop medical experts. METHODS: This study was performed in the following two projects: (1) a qualitative study of clinical decision-making in a clinical scenario and (2) an analysis of differences in cortical activity of experts and novices through EEG. RESULTS: In the 1st study, this study found that "confirmation of the patient's chief complaints," "physical examination," and "radiography reading" steps, which showed the most prominent differences in the experts' and novices' decision making, were set as the significant steps of dentists' clinical decision making. In the 2nd study, the experts' and novices' cortical activities were measured through a 32-channel EEG. In task 6, which had the lowest accuracy of diagnoses made by the experts, the brain activities in both groups were higher than in other tasks. CONCLUSION: This study developed and suggested a model of the decision-making process for experts and novices and suggested the basic directions for brain-based learning needed to raise experts based on brain activity.

Scoping Review of the Literature on Smart Healthcare for Older Adults.

Smart healthcare systems are being designed to provide medical services to and improve the daily lives of older adults. However, most research has been focused on technical issues, despite a need to conduct in-depth studies on related ethical issues. Therefore, this study aimed to examine ethical issues in smart healthcare for older adults. We reviewed published literature using PubMed. In total, 292 documents were analyzed by applying the scoping review method. Finally, 29 articles were selected from the 292 articles. Ethical issues in smart healthcare for older adults were analyzed in terms of the themes of responsibility/autonomy (n=10), privacy (n=9), and digital divide (n=10). Technical help provided by smart healthcare may infringe on the autonomy of tacit choice for older adults. This pose a potential ethical issue as the subject of responsibility here is unclear. Privacy is a concern as smart technology may intrude the personal life of the user. The digital divide is a challenge because of low responsiveness from older adults to technological changes. The future development and application of smart healthcare systems must take these ethical aspects into account to enable their efficient and effective use in supplementing healthcare for older adults. Critical discussions to identify ethical issues and customize ethical requirements for specific user needs are necessary among smart healthcare providers.

Insights from Review and Content Analysis of Current COVID-19 Mobile Apps and Recommendations for Future Pandemics.

A number of mobile health apps related to coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been developed, but research into app content analytics for effective surveillance and management is still in its preliminary stages. The present study aimed to identify the purpose and functions of the currently available COVID-19 apps using content analysis. The secondary aim was to propose directions for the future development of apps that aid infectious disease surveillance and control with a focus on enhancing the app content and quality. Prior to conducting an app search in the App Store and the Google Play Store, we reviewed previous studies on COVID-19 apps found in Google Scholar and PubMed to examine the main purposes of the apps. Using the five selected keywords based on the review, we searched the two app stores to retrieve eligible COVID-19 apps including those already addressed in the reviewed literature. We conducted descriptive and content analyses of the selected apps. We classified the purpose types of the COVID-19 apps into the following five categories: Information provision, tracking, monitoring, mental health management, and engagement. We identified 890 apps from the review articles and the app stores: 47 apps met the selection criteria and were included in the content analysis. Among the selected apps, iOS apps outnumbered Android apps, 27 apps were government-developed, and most of the apps were created in the United States. The most common function for the iOS apps (63.6%) and Android apps (62.5%) was to provide COVID-19-related knowledge. The most common function among the tracking apps was to notify users of contact with infected people by the iOS apps (40.9%) and Android apps (37.5%). About 29.5% of the iOS apps and 25.0% of the Android apps were used to record symptoms and self-diagnose. Significantly fewer apps targeted mental health management and engagement. Six iOS apps (6/44, 13.6%) and four Android apps (4/24, 16.7%) provided behavioral guidelines about the pandemic. Two iOS apps (2/44, 4.5%) and two Android apps (2/24, 8.3%) featured communication functions. The present content analysis revealed that most of the apps provided unilateral information and contact tracing or location tracking. Several apps malfunctioned. Future research and development of COVID-19 apps or apps for other emerging infectious diseases should address the quality and functional improvements, which should begin with continuous monitoring and actions to mitigate any technical errors.

High levels of burnout and depression in a population of senior dental students in a school of dentistry in Korea.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Dental students are exposed to highly stressful environments, making them high-risk for burnout and depression. This study intended to investigate the burnout and depression level in senior dental students in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study among third- and fourth-year dental students enrolled at Seoul National University. Demographic data, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), dental education satisfaction, and counseling needs were measured. Statistical analyses included intergroup comparison of MBI subscales (emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA)) to identify the risk factors for burnout. Correlation analyses between MBI subscales and PHQ-9 were also conducted. RESULTS: Among 112 students included in the study, 44.6% had high EE, 36.6% showed high DP, and 51.8% had low PA. There were 20 (17.9%) students who satisfied burnout criteria on all three subscales. There were 19 (17.0%) students with PHQ-9 scores of 10 or greater. There were no significant differences in MBI subscales or PHQ-9 scores according to sex, study year, marital status, funding for studies, or academic grade, but there was a difference according to academic workload. All MBI subscales had significant correlation with PHQ-9 score. Burnout students reported significantly lower satisfaction scores and greater need for counseling compared to non-burnout students. CONCLUSION: Burnout and depression levels among dental students in Korea were relatively high and intercorrelated. Burnout level was significantly associated with high academic workload. Students experiencing burnout were likely to be dissatisfied with their education programs and likely to need counseling.

Smartphone use and schema-based learning in dentomaxillofacial radiology practice: a case report from one College of Dentistry.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the students' satisfaction and awareness of competency towards smartphone use and schema-based learning in dental radiology practice. METHODS: Third year students undertaking a dental radiology practicum at a dental school were divided into two groups: one group received traditional clinical training, whereas the other group used smartphones in classes and received new training using schema assignments. At the end of the course, students' satisfaction with the training and self-awareness of their competency were surveyed, and their achievement was assessed. RESULTS: Although students' satisfaction with smartphone-based training was generally high, it was less than that of students trained by traditional instruction. However, most students that received smartphone-based training had higher self-scored competency before than after training. The smartphone group scored higher on true/false or multiple-choice questions, whereas the traditional group scored higher on short-answer questions. CONCLUSIONS: Smartphone education with schema based assignment proved to be attractive in dental radiology, but students showed less satisfaction, and need to meet the requirements of evidence-based practice. Although the full use of smartphone education with schema is not recommended in dental education, we think that it could be try to use as a supplementary approach with traditional didactic method to facilitate student's exploration and self-study to cope with rapid change in educational environment.

Impacts of problem-based professionalism course in dental education.

PURPOSE: This study explores the effects of a professionalism course based on problem-based learning (PBL) for 2nd year dental students on professional role concept and on ethical reasoning. It also investigates students' attitudes toward professionalism development program. METHODS: The experimental group (n=36) participated in the 5-week professionalism course, which uses PBL approach while the control group (n=89) did not receive the professionalism instruction during the same period. The professionalism development program was implemented via discussions among students in small-group tutorial. Four professors, who served as group facilitators participated in faculty seminars before every tutorial. After each tutorial, students had to write essays on the cases they discussed in their groups. Both groups completed Professional Role Orientation Inventory and Defining Issue Test (KDIT) prior to and post intervention period. The experimental group also responded to questionnaires about the value of professionalism program. RESULTS: Analysis of covariance indicated that the experimental group's responsibility score significantly improved (F=32.552, p<0.001) while their perception of agency decreased (F=29.510, p<0.001). The program had little influence on ethical reasoning measured by DIT. Twenty-eight students (78%) responded that they learned the value of other opinions. Seventy percent of the students responded that the course is worthwhile or very worthwhile. CONCLUSION: The result reveals that students' professional role concept is associated with the learning experience in professionalism program based on PBL. Opportunities to think of professionalism in clinical situations improved students' sense of responsibility as dentist.