Open Collections

Shokouhi, Parisa

University of British Columbia

Objectives: Curriculum Indigenization refers to any approach or philosophy of education for delivering Indigenous content and cultural perspectives to the learners. It remains unknown as to whether or not Indigenous content is addressed in the training of oral health providers worldwide, and in Canada. This study undertook a scoping review and a survey of all Canadian dental and dental hygiene programs to investigate the extent to which Indigenous content in addressed within oral health education curricula. Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology was followed for the scoping review. The search encompassed literature available until November 1, 2023. Two reviewers performed literature screening independently. “Indigenous”, “education”, and “oral health” were used as initial keywords. An anonymous survey was distributed electronically among all 10 dental and 35 dental hygiene schools across Canada between September and October 2023. The survey focused on Indigenous education objectives, content, method of delivery, assessment, barriers, and facilitators to address such content in the curriculum. Descriptive (means and frequencies) data analyses were performed using SPSS software version 29.0 (SPSS Inc., IL, USA). Results: A total of 948 records were identified for the scoping review, and 23 studies met the criteria for data extraction. The most covered content included Indigenous culture, with rural and clinical placements being the most employed delivery methods, and surveys the most employed assessment technique. For the survey, 90% of dental (n=9) and 71% (n=25) of dental hygiene programs responded, from which 32 had Indigenous content (9 dental: 23 dental hygiene). Lecture format was the most employed teaching approach, and Indigenous people’s health was the most covered topic. A packed curriculum was the most mentioned barrier in offering Indigenous content, followed by Indigenous faculty shortage. Conclusions: Indigenous culture worldwide and Indigenous health in Canada are the most frequently covered contents according to the scoping review. The survey revealed progress in including Indigenous content within Canadian dental and dental hygiene programs, but challenges such as overcrowded curricula and faculty shortages persist. Future efforts should focus on overcoming these barriers and evaluating the long-term impact of these educational programs on health outcomes for Indigenous populations.

Text

2024-10-28

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89558

Craniofacial Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/