Background: Social accountability relates to the obligation of a health professional school to align education, research, and services with community health priorities. Limited research has examined the role of social accountability in dental education and its potential for addressing oral health inequalities. Aim: The aim of this narrative review is to describe current research of relevance to social accountability in dental education and identify gaps in the literature. Method: A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus, using the terms “social accountability”, “social responsibility”, and “dental education” was undertaken. Articles included in the review were those published between January 1995 and May 2024 which were related to dental professional education and deemed relevant to social accountability. Results and conclusions: Four themes of relevance to social accountability were identified in the literature (curriculum design and delivery, attitudes, social responsiveness, and cultural competence). This review highlights challenges in measuring the community impact of socially accountable approaches in dental education. There is a need for more longitudinal research to assess the long-term impacts of social accountability in dental education. There are also potential implications for policy and research to influence the working environment of dental graduates to enable and support the workforce to apply and embed social accountability in the practice of dentistry.
AlraqiqHMEdelsteinBLMilleryM, et al. (2020) Non-clinical experiences influence dental students' career plans to care for the underserved. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved31: 682–699.
2.
BatraS, MSTOrbanJGuterbockT, et al. (2020) Social mission metrics: developing a survey to guide health professions schools. Academic Medicine95: 1811–1816.
3.
BaumeisterSEDavidsonPLCarreonDC, et al. (2007) What influences dental students to serve special care patients?Special Care in Dentistry27: 15–22.
4.
BazenJJKrugerEDysonK, et al. (2007) An innovation in Australian dental education: rural, remote and Indigenous pre-graduation placements. Rural and Remote Health7: 703.
5.
Behar-HorensteinLSFengX (2017) Dental student, resident, and faculty attitudes toward treating Medicaid patients. Journal of Dental Education81: 1291–1300.
6.
Behar-HorensteinLSFengXRobertsKW, et al. (2015) Developing dental students' awareness of health care disparities and desire to serve vulnerable populations through service-learning. Journal of Dental Education79: 1189–1200.
7.
BetancourtJRGreenARCarrilloJE, et al. (2003) Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. Public Health Reports118: 293–302.
BoelenCPearsonDKaufmanA, et al. (2016) Producing a socially accountable medical school: AMEE Guide No. 109. Medical Teacher38: 1078–1091.
10.
BoothAJHurryKJAbelaS (2022) The current dental school applicant: an overview of the admission process for UK dental schools and the sociodemographic status of applicants. British Dental Journal232: 172–176.
11.
BrondaniMA (2012) Teaching social responsibility through community service-learning in predoctoral dental education. Journal of Dental Education76: 609–619.
12.
BrondaniMAPattanapornKAleksejunieneJ (2015) How can dental public health competencies be addressed at the undergraduate level?Journal of Public Health Dentistry75: 49–57.
13.
BrondaniMHarjaniMSiarkowskiM, et al. (2020) Community as the teacher on issues of social responsibility, substance use, and queer health in dental education. PLoS One15: e0237327.
14.
BrunsonWDJacksonDLSinkfordJC, et al. (2010) Components of effective outreach and recruitment programs for underrepresented minority and low-income dental students. Journal of Dental Education74: S74–S86.
15.
BurnsLCoelhoCAddyA (2023) Ethnic diversity in academic dentistry in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Dental Education27: 610–613.
16.
ChenVFoster PageLMcMillanJ, et al. (2016) Measuring the attitudes of dental students towards social accountability following dental education - qualitative findings. Medical Teacher38: 599–606.
CrandallSJVolkRJLoemkerV (1993) Medical students' attitudes toward providing care for the underserved. Are we training socially responsible physicians?Journal of the American Medical Association269: 2519–2523.
20.
CrantonP (2016) Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning: A Guide to Theory and Practice. Stirling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
21.
DavidsonPLCarreonDCBaumeisterSE, et al. (2007) Influence of contextual environment and community-based dental education on practice plans of graduating seniors. Journal of Dental Education71: 403–418.
22.
DavisELStewartDCGuelmannM, et al. (2007) Serving the public good: challenges of dental education in the twenty-first century. Journal of Dental Education71: 1009–1019.
23.
DharamsiSPrattDDMacEnteeMI (2007) How dentists account for social responsibility: economic imperatives and professional obligations. Journal of Dental Education71: 1583–1592.
24.
DharamsiSEspinozaNCramerC, et al. (2010) Nurturing social responsibility through community service-learning: lessons learned from a pilot project. Medical Teacher32: 905–911.
25.
DixonJTubert-JeanninSDaviesJ, et al. (2024) O-Health-Edu: a viewpoint into the current state of oral health professional education in Europe: Part 2: curriculum structure, facilities, staffing and quality assurance. European Journal of Dental Education28: 607–620.
26.
Donate-BartfieldELobbWRouckaT (2014) Teaching culturally sensitive care to dental students: a multidisciplinary approach. Journal of Dental Education78: 454–464.
27.
dos SantosBFMadathilSZuanonACC, et al. (2017) Brazilian dental students’ attitudes about provision of care for patients living in poverty. Journal of Dental Education81: 1309–1316.
28.
Foster PageLAChenVGibsonB, et al. (2016) Overcoming structural inequalities in oral health: the role of dental curricula. Community Dental Health33: 168–172.
HabibianMElizondoLMulliganR (2010) Dental students' attitudes toward homeless people while providing oral health care. Journal of Dental Education74: 1190–1196.
32.
HabibianMSeirawanHMulliganR (2011) Dental students' attitudes toward underserved populations across four years of dental school. Journal of Dental Education75: 1020–1029.
33.
HadenNKCatalanottoFAAlexanderCJ, et al. (2003) Improving the oral health status of all Americans: roles and responsibilities of academic dental institutions: the report of the ADEA President's Commission. Journal of Dental Education67: 563–583.
34.
HobdellMSinkfordJAlexanderC, et al. (2002) 5.2 Ethics, equity and global responsibilities in oral health and disease. European Journal of Dental Education6(Suppl 3): 167–178.
HoltzmanJSSeirawanH (2009) Impact of community-based oral health experiences on dental students' attitudes towards caring for the underserved. Journal of Dental Education73: 303–310.
37.
HoskinERJohnsenDCSaksenaY, et al. (2019) Dental educators' perceptions of educational learning domains. Journal of Dental Education83: 79–87.
38.
IsaacCBehar-HorensteinLLeeB, et al. (2015) Impact of reflective writing assignments on dental students' views of cultural competence and diversity. Journal of Dental Education79: 312–321.
39.
JouryE (2016) Community-based learning in a challenging context: the development and evaluation of an outreach dental public health programme in Damascus University, Syria. European Journal of Dental Education20: 39–44.
40.
KeithDAKulichRJBharelM, et al. (2017) Massachusetts dental schools respond to the prescription opioid crisis: a statewide collaboration. Journal of Dental Education81: 1388–1394.
41.
KontaxisKLEsfandiariS (2023) Social justice education in dentistry: a qualitative analysis and conceptual framework. JDR Clinical and Translational Research8: 123–130.
42.
KuthyRAHellerKERinikerKJ, et al. (2007) Students’ opinions about treating vulnerable populations immediately after completing community-based clinical experiences. Journal of Dental Education71: 646–654.
43.
LalaRBakerSMuirheadV (2021) A critical analysis of underrepresentation of racialised minorities in the UK dental workforce. Community Dental Health38: 142–149.
44.
LeinsterS (2011) Evaluation and assessment of social accountability in medical schools. Medical Teacher33: 673–676.
45.
LynchCDAshPJChadwickBL (2010) Student perspectives and opinions on their experience at an undergraduate outreach dental teaching centre at Cardiff: a 5-year study. European Journal of Dental Education14: 12–16.
46.
MajorNMcQuistanMRQianF (2016) Changes in dental students’ attitudes about treating underserved populations: a longitudinal study. Journal of Dental Education80: 517–525.
McHargJKayEJ (2008) The anatomy of a new dental curriculum. British Dental Journal204: 635–638.
49.
McMenaminRMcGrathMCantillonP, et al. (2014) Training socially responsive health care graduates: is service learning an effective educational approach?Medical Teacher36: 291–307.
50.
MertzEAWidesCDKottekAM, et al. (2016) Underrepresented minority dentists: quantifying their numbers and characterizing the communities they serve. Health Affairs35: 2190–2199.
NeveHHanksSHeathMSmithW (2020) Today's shook me up a lot inside…it's definitely changed me': emotional responses and transformative learning through working with disadvantaged communities. Education for Primary Care31: 358–364.
53.
NivenVScamblerSCabotLB, et al. (2023) Journey towards a dental career: the career decision-making journey and perceived obstacles to studying dentistry identified by London's secondary school pupils and teachers. British Dental Journal, [online] Available at: DOI: 10.1038/s41415-023-6188-8 (Accessed 9 December 2024).
54.
NovakKFWhiteheadAWCloseJM, et al. (2004) Students' perceived importance of diversity exposure and training in dental education. Journal of Dental Education68: 355–360.
PálsdóttirBBarryJBrunoA, et al. (2016) Training for impact: the socio-economic impact of a fit for purpose health workforce on communities. Human Resources for Health14: 49.
57.
PauAMutalikV (2016) Experiential learning in community oral health promotion: a qualitative evaluation of the experiential aspects. Pedagogy in Health Promotion3: 108–114.
58.
PlessasAPaisiMAhmedN, et al. (2024) The impact of community engaged healthcare education on undergraduate students’ empathy and their views towards social accountability; a mixed methods systematic review. BMC Medical Education24: 1490.
59.
PriceSSGrant-MillsD (2010) Effective admissions practices to achieve greater student diversity in dental schools. Journal of Dental Education74: S87–S97.
60.
PritchettRMHineCEFranksMA, et al. (2014) Student-led oral health education for the homeless community of East London. British Dental Journal217: 85–88.
61.
ReeveCWoolleyTRossSJ, et al. (2017) The impact of socially-accountable health professional education: a systematic review of the literature. Medical Teacher39: 67–73.
62.
ReisCMRRodriguezCMacaulayAC, et al. (2014) Dental students’ perceptions of and attitudes about poverty: a Canadian participatory case study. Journal of Dental Education78: 1604–1614.
63.
RigholtAJevdjevicMMarcenesW, et al. (2018) Global-Regional-and country-level economic impacts of dental diseases in 2015. Journal of Dental Research97: 501–507.
64.
RohraAKPiskorowskiWAInglehartMR (2014) Community-based dental education and dentists' attitudes and behavior concerning patients from underserved populations. Journal of Dental Education78: 119–130.
65.
RossSPrestonRLindemannI, et al. (2014) The training for health equity network evaluation framework: a pilot study at five health professional schools. Education and Health27: 116–126.
66.
RowlandMLBeanCYCasamassimoPS (2006) A snapshot of cultural competency education in U.S. Dental schools. Journal of Dental Education70: 982–990.
67.
RubinRW (2004) Developing cultural competence and social responsibility in preclinical dental students. Journal of Dental Education68: 460–467.
68.
RubinRWRustveldLOWeyantRJ, et al. (2008) Exploring dental students' perceptions of cultural competence and social responsibility. Journal of Dental Education72: 1114–1121.
69.
SaboSde ZapienJTeufel-ShoneN, et al. (2015) Service Learning: a vehicle for building health equity and eliminating health disparities. American Journal of Public Health105(Suppl 1): S38–S43.
70.
SmithCSEsterTVInglehartMR (2006) Dental education and care for underserved patients: an analysis of students' intentions and alumni behavior. Journal of Dental Education70: 398–408.
71.
SukheraJ (2022) Narrative reviews: flexible, rigorous, and practical. Journal of Graduate Medical Education14: 414–417.
72.
UtomoPSGovenderKDe KempeneerA, et al. (2022) The institutional self-assessment social accountability tool (ISAT): nurturing social accountability progress in medical and health professions education. Social Innovations Journal14, [online] Available at: https://socialinnovationsjournal.com/index.php/sij/article/view/3763 (Accessed 9 December 2024).
73.
WagnerJArteagaSD'AmbrosioJ, et al. (2008) Dental student's attitudes toward treating diverse patients: effects of a cross-cultural patient-instructor program. Journal of Dental Education72: 1128–1134.
74.
WenghoferEFHogenbirkJCTimonyPE (2017) Impact of the rural pipeline in medical education: practice locations of recently graduated family physicians in Ontario. Human Resources for Health15: 16–22.
75.
WittonRPaisiM (2022) The benefits of an innovative community engagement model in dental undergraduate education. Education for Primary Care33: 41–45.
76.
WoollardRF (2006) Caring for a common future: medical schools' social accountability. Medical Education40: 301–313.
77.
WoolleyTSen GuptaTLarkinsS (2018) Work settings of the first seven cohorts of James Cook University Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery graduates: meeting a social accountability mandate through contribution to the public sector and Indigenous health services. Australian Journal of Rural Health26: 258–264.
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
