Other
Sophia Pankratz, B.A. (she/her/hers)
Dental Student
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Kylie Sestak, N/A
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry
Sarah G. Lowman, DDS, MPH
Assistant Dean of Admissions and Assistant Professor
The University of Nebraska College of Dentistry
Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Beau D. Meyer, DDS, MPH
Assistant Professor
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Sarah G. Lowman, DDS, MPH
Assistant Dean of Admissions and Assistant Professor
The University of Nebraska College of Dentistry
Omaha, Nebraska, United States
James Wahl, III, PhD
Associate Dean for Research
UNMC College of Dentistry
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Dental Students’ Knowledge and Beliefs about Medicaid: A National Survey
Pankratz S1, Sestak K1, Meyer B,2 Lowman SG1
1University of Nebraska Medical Center, Lincoln, NE 2The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Purpose: Early childhood caries is the most prevalent chronic condition impacting children in the United States, yet access to dental care for this population remains a major public health issue. One possible way of improving access to care is by expanding dental Medicaid and increasing the number of participating oral health care providers. Yet, there are gaps in the literature regarding dental public health and Medicaid-focused education in U.S. dental schools, as well as dental students’ knowledge and beliefs. The aims of this study are: (1) to characterize dental students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about caring for individuals with Medicaid as their primary form of dental insurance, and (2) to determine if knowledge and beliefs are associated with intent to participate in the Medicaid program after graduation. Lastly, this study will explore whether a loan repayment program would likely influence new dental school graduates to participate in the Medicaid program.
Methods: The study received approval from the UNMC IRB #0366-22-EX. All academic deans at accredited U.S. dental schools were contacted about the study in 2022 and provided an IRB-approved introductory script and a survey link to distribute to their predoctoral students (est. n=26,400 students). The electronic survey was administered through RedCap. Several survey items were repeated or modified from earlier work by Myer et al. 2019; demographic questions and those regarding loan repayment programs were original to this study.
Results: Study limitations include a small and potentially non-representative sample of U.S. dental students. Numerous academic deans actively or passively declined to distribute the survey to their students. Results show a positive correlation between dental students who reported LGBTQIA+ and knowledge of dental Medicaid. There was one positive, significant correlation between attitude and beliefs and intent to participate. 80% of students would be extremely or very likely to treat Medicaid patients in a private practice setting if loan forgiveness was available.
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