STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES : A COMPARISON BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER CLASS OF SPECIAL CARE DENTISTRY

Patients with disabilities are a significant segment of Korea population. However, they encounter more challenges when seeking dental care. So, dentists and students who are future dental providers should have a responsibility to provide oral care services for them. In this study, we hypothesize that the education of special care dentistry may influence positive attitudes of the disabled. The attitudes are influenced by demographic variables such as gender, religion, experience of volunteer activities and marital status. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore the change of attitudes of students towards people with disabilities between before and after class of special care dentistry. 72 students enrolled at the Kyung Hee University were surveyed. All participants attended class of Special Care dentistry in the third grade. The survey was conducted two times, just before class and after class. The attitudes of students were assessed using the well-documented ATDP (Attitude Toward Disabled Person)-O(Original) scale and MAS (Multidimensional Attitudes Scales Toward Persons with Disabilities) scale through the methodology of questionnaires. The results indicated that gender, experience of volunteer activities and marital status did not affect their ATDP and MAS score. In religious affiliation, only, there were statistically significant difference in student attitudes between before and after class of Special care dentistry. It means that habitual religious activity may offer stronger effects on student`s attitude than short-term education. Therefore, long-term and specific educational experiences are needed to promote positive attitudes for people with disability.