Measuring the attitudes of dental students towards social accountability following dental education – Qualitative findings

Background: The term social accountability has gained increased interest in medical education, but is relatively unexplored in dentistry. Aims: The aim of this study is to explore dental students’ attitudes towards social accountability. Methods: A qualitative study utilizing focus groups with University of Otago final year (5th year) Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students was carried out. A questionnaire designed to measure medical students’ attitudes towards social responsibility was used as a guide. Following data collection, framework analysis was used to analyze each of the three focus groups, and repeating themes were noted. Results: Analysis of the focus groups discovered recurring themes, such that participants believed that dentists should be accountable to society in a professional context and that they are responsible for patients who present at their clinic but that there is no professional obligation to help reduce oral health inequalities by working with populations facing inequalities. There was strong agreement that there needs to be change to the dental health care system from a structural and political level to address oral health inequalities, rather than individual dentists assuming greater responsibility. Conclusion: Our findings show that dental education may not be accountable to society in the sense that it is not producing graduates who believe that they have an obligation to address the priority oral health concerns of society.