Changes in attitudes of first-year dental school students toward end of life care after a lecture

Objective: End-of-life care is important to improve the quality of life of terminally ill patients. However, dental school students have few opportunities to learn about such care. The present study was performed to allow future curriculum planning by chronologically examining the influence of an end-of-life care lecture on students’ attitudes toward end-of-life care. Methods:The participants were 48 first-year dental school students (25 men and 23 women; medianage, 19.5y; range, 18 – 26y). The students’ attitudes toward end-of-life care were measured using a shortened version of the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale, Form B, Japanese version.The survey was carried out three times—prior to the lecture, immediately after the lecture, and 7 months after the lecture to capture changes over time. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical analysis. Results: A 100% collection rate/valid response rate was achieved before and immediately after the lecture. Furthermore, 91.7% of those who responded to the survey returned valid responses 7 months after the lecture. Of the six items, the post-lecture score for “it is meaningful for me to care for dying patients” increased significantly from the pre-lecture score (p < 0.05), but that recorded 7 months after the lecture did not show a significant difference from the pre-lecture score (p > 0.05). Conclusion: One-off lectures have limited influence on attitudes and awareness regarding end-of-life care among first-year dental students. Thus, a systematic curriculum over 6 years is necessary.