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HDR Student Update – Kamal Hanna

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jon Saw

Kamal Hanna

The Impact of Patient-Centred Dental Open Educational Resources (OER) on Enhancing Shared Clinical Decision-Making in Dental Practice

The utilization of the internet in patient education is an effective way of improving healthcare knowledge. Open Educational Resources (OER) are digitised materials that offer an open and flexible learning opportunity.

OER are either open access or open content. Dental OER consist of freely accessible information that is available on websites of dental clinics, professional associations, affiliated universities and hospitals. Open content dental OER allows growth of content by collaboration. It includes, but is not limited to, wiki, blogs, podcasts and other social media web applications.

Clinical decision making involves dentist-patient interaction, communication and exchange of knowledge. Treatment outcomes are improved when patients are more involved in the decision-making process. It is argued in this research that, dental OER guided patients have deeper knowledge and more control over their own health condition than unguided patients. Moreover, this research will evaluate the impact of dental OER on enhancing patient engagement in: the process of shared clinical decision making, satisfaction, confidence and improvement in quality of life.

Evaluation will be carried out via a controlled clinical trial. Data will be collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interview. This research will contribute to Patient Education Theory and fills in the gap in knowledge regarding the applicability of using patient-centered OER in dental patient education.

Posted in News | Tagged general, hdr, study
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Research Activities – Oral Health Practice Activity Study

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jon Saw

Dental hygienist Leanne Trio providing oral health instruction to an aged care resident

The ARCPOH oral health practice activity study aims to capture a detailed picture of the services provided by oral health practitioners. There have been earlier studies on the practice activity of dental hygienists and some limited work on dental therapists practice in the public sector. However, this will be ARCPOH’s first study to collectively quantify and compare the practice activity of hygienists, therapists and the emerging oral health therapist labour force. The education, scope of practice and registration of these dental practitioner groups has changed considerably in recent years. Consequently these groups have gained increased policy attention.

While it is known that there are marked differences between these groups in terms of hours worked and employment across types of practices, current data on patterns of service provision and patient demographics is very limited. The study will also explore job satisfaction and associations between satisfaction and practice activity.

The collection of data will commence in late February. The project has strong support from the both the Dental Hygienists’ Association of Australian Inc. and the Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists’ Association.

The project, led by Associate Professor Brennan, is being conducted in collaboration with The University of Melbourne Dental School Associate Professor Julie Satur.

The project is funded by the NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence in Health Services Research grant.

For further information contact Dana Teusner, Research Associate.

Posted in News, Research | Tagged research, research activities
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New Staff – Dr Dominic Keuskamp & Carmen Koster

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jon Saw

Dr Dominic Keuskamp

Dr Dominic Keuskamp (Dom) is employed as a Research Associate for two projects under the CRE in Primary Oral Health Care: Successful Ageing & Oral Health and The Oral Health of People with Physical & Intellectual Disabilities. He joins us from Flinders University’s Southgate Institute for Health, Society & Equity, where he worked as a Research Fellow for the NHMRC-funded project ‘Changing patterns of work: Impacts on physical and mental health and the mediating role of resiliency and social capital’. His research interests include the impact of work and employment on mental and physical health, the role played by psychosocial factors as mediators, and the underpinning social determinants of health. His most recent publications have focussed on the incidence of bullying, the relationships between casual employment and health, the interplay of agency and structure in the health of casual workers, and the experiences of life outside the workforce for baby boomers.

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Carmen Koster

In January 2013, Carmen joined ARCPOH as a Research Officer, she is currently involved with the National Child Oral Health Survey (NCOHS). Previously Carmen gained knowledge of dental research while working at ARCPOH from 2002 to 2007 when she was involved with the Child Fluoride Study and National Survey of Adult Oral Health. Carmen holds a degree in Social Science (Research Methods and Statistics) which she completed in the former West Germany. After working for the University of Wuppertal and University of Essen, Carmen migrated to Australia in 1994. She has over 20 years of research experience predominantly within various state government departments and the University of Adelaide. Carmen is the co-author of several publications in the field of dental and health research. Carmen’s experience and knowledge is with data management and statistical analysis and project planning/management, particularly in the area of social and health sciences.

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Vice Chancellor Professor Warren Bebbington visits the Centre

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jon Saw

The University of Adelaide’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Warren Bebbington visited ARCPOH on the 7th of February 2013 to deliver a presentation and facilitate discussion on the Universities ‘Beacon of Enlightenment’ Strategic Plan for 2013—2023. Professor Bebbington reflected on the founding vision of the University—to produce young educated leaders in a democratic and progressive environment. He then […]

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Directors’ Report – March 2013

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jon Saw

All ARCPOH staff dedicated some time during February and March to working in small groups to discuss plans and strategies for the near and longer term future for ARCPOH. It was a rich process that culminated in some important decisions such as the creation of course work for all postgraduate students addressing core issues in […]

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Caring for oral health in Australian residential care

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Jon Saw

Summary Within the increasing older Australian population, there is a significant group at very high risk for developing complex oral diseases and dental problems—institutionalised older adults in Australian residential care facilities. There are abundant general health, functional, cognitive, social and financial problems among this group of high-risk older adults. These problems are associated not only […]