title: Developing an assessment in dental public health for clinical undergraduates attending a primary dental care outreach programme.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This paper describes the development and implementation of a Dental Public Health (DPH) assessment within the Primary Dental Care Outreach (PDCO) course at Newcastle University. The assessment was piloted alongside the delivery of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) curriculum in accordance with established learning outcomes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To design and implement a pilot summative assessment, incorporating patients' social histories obtained by undergraduate students attending primary dental care outreach clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Undergraduates were tasked with obtaining a detailed social history from a patient seen during their two-year outreach attachment. Each student submitted a written account of their patient's social history and placed this in context by researching a number of demographic and social variables centred upon their patient's home residence. The final component involved writing a concise case feature for a nominated newspaper based upon the case history, where students were encouraged to identify one or more public health messages using language appropriate to a lay readership.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy one clinical undergraduates (98.6% of the year-group) subsequently submitted all components of the assessment. Eighty six per cent of the year-group was deemed to have passed the assessment with 9.9% achieving a 'Merit' grade and 76% a 'Satisfactory' grade. Following the assessment, students and clinical teachers were asked for their feedback through a focus group for staff, and a brief feedback form for students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Undergraduates subsequently reported greater awareness of the significance and importance of obtaining a detailed social history and its relevance when devising appropriate and realistic treatment plans.
authors.affiliation: School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Richard.Holmes@newcastle.ac.uk
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Waterhouse
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maguire
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hind
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tabari
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lowry
mesh_terms: D003149:Community Dentistry / Q000193:education*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003479:Curriculum; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care; D016730:Program Development