454 - A study of the self-efficacy of students undertaking treatment in paediatric patients compared with adult patients.
S Pollard M Collard
Presented by: Neel Sethi
Cardiff Dental Hospital
Introduction Self-efficacy is described as an individual's belief in their innate ability to achieve goals. Reduced self-efficacy can have a negative effect when performing operative dentistry. Aims To determine whether a difference exists in the self-efficacy students experience when undertaking restorative procedures in adult and paediatric patients. To analyse the effects of different variables upon self-efficacy. To determine the level of interest in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) within a dental student population. Methods Questionnaires containing a modified General-Self-Efficacy (GSE) Scale and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were distributed to all fourth and fifth-year dental students at the University Dental Hospital, Cardiff. Results The modified GSE-Scale showed mean self-efficacy scores treating paediatric patients for fourth-years’ were 17.63±0.351 and 14.82±0.361 for fifth-years’. Whilst treating adults, fourth-years’ mean was 15.52±0.323 and fifth-years’ was 13.76±0.289 (P<0.001). Mean VAS self-efficacy scores reinforce these findings. Overall, 63% of fifth-years’ and 67% of fourth-years’ agreed there was a need for MBSR teaching within the curriculum. Conclusion The dental students experienced lower levels of self-efficacy undertaking restorative dentistry in paediatric patients compared with adults. There was significant interest in MBSR, indicating potential for future study within the population.
Consent Statement: There are no details on individual patients reported within the abstract.
Poster