E-learning used in a training course on atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) for Brazilian dentists.
The purpose of this study was to assess the benefits of using e-learning resources in a dental training course on Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART). This e-course was given in a DVD format, which presented the ART technique and philosophy. The participants were twenty-four dentists from the Brazilian public health system. Prior to receiving the DVD, the dentists answered a questionnaire regarding their personal data, previous knowledge about ART, and general interest in training courses. The dentists also participated in an assessment process consisting of a test applied before and after the course. A single researcher corrected the tests, and intraexaminer reproducibility was calculated (kappa=0.89). Paired t-tests were carried out to compare the means between the assessments, showing a significant improvement in the performance of the subjects on the test taken after the course (p<0.05). A linear regression model was used with the difference between the means as the outcome. A greater improvement on the test results was observed among female dentists (p=0.034), dentists working for a shorter period of time in the public health system (p=0.042), and dentists who used the ART technique only for urgent and/or temporary treatment (p=0.010). In conclusion, e-learning has the potential of improving the knowledge that dentists working in the public health system have about ART, especially those with less clinical experience and less knowledge about the subject.
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. lucilaca@usp.br
Lucila Basto
LB
Camargo
Janaina Merli
JM
Aldrigui
José Carlos Pettorossi
JC
Imparato
Fausto Medeiros
FM
Mendes
Chao Lung
CL
Wen
Marcelo
M
Bönecker
Daniela Prócida
DP
Raggio
Ana Estela
AE
Haddad
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D057087:Dental Atraumatic Restorative Treatment; D003814:Dentistry, Operative / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods; D004498:Education, Dental, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D020375:Education, Distance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011636:Public Health Dentistry / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014742:Videodisc Recording; D053443:Visible Human Projects