title: Attendance at and self-perceived need for continuing education among Mongolian dentists.
abstract: In May 2000, a questionnaire-based survey was targeted at all Mongolian dentists practising in the capital city of Mongolia in May 2000 with the aim of evaluating attendance at and the self-perceived need for continuing education (CE) in relation to their background characteristics and to their attitude towards CE. The response rate was 98% (n = 245), with 38% of the dentists reporting a CE learning opportunity in at least one of the clinical disciplines of dentistry during the 2 years prior to the survey. A need for CE in at least one of the disciplines was perceived by 58%. A dentist's field of practice and attitude towards CE were the significant factors for attendance, whereas length of working experience, field of practice, holding a postgraduate degree, and having attended CE courses were significant factors for perceiving a need for CE, when controlling for all other variables in the logistic regression analyses (P < 0.05). There seems to be a need for an increased attendance at CE courses among the dentists and a need for preparing them to have a positive attitude towards CE. On the other hand, creating an organized CE system which produces courses for dental practitioners, based on their need, will be at present a challenge for the Mongolian dental profession.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Public Health, Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. battsetseg.tseveenjav@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Battsetseg
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tseveenjav
authors.forename: Miira M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Vehkalahti
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murtomaa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003815:Dentists; D004498:Education, Dental, Continuing / Q000145:classification; D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008986:Mongolia; D011331:Private Practice; D011364:Professional Practice; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors