BOX 2 : Pre-and Post-Learning Event Questionnaire
Question 1 ( Q1 ): Learning events about diversity and inclusion in relation to health care delivery should be threaded throughout the four-year curriculum .
Question 2 ( Q2 ): A culturally diverse health care provider workforce is needed to provide optimal patient care to all patients . Question 3 ( Q3 ): How would you rate your level of awareness of health disparities in the United States ?
Question 4 ( Q4 ): How frequently do health disparities occur in West Virginia ? Question 5 ( Q5 ): How frequently do health disparities occur in the United States ? Question 6 ( Q6 ): Stereotyping and prejudicial comments impact health care delivery and health disparities . Question 7 ( Q7 ): Health disparities are influenced by the quality of interpersonal care in the health care setting .
inferences and generally lowers power to detect significant improvements . Despite this limitation , we were still able to find significant differences on the indicated items . Two main limitations are the lack of inclusion of other health professional students in the interprofessional effort , and our data is limited to one academic health center . Follow-up to determine if the raised awareness about health disparities has persisted as the cohort continued through their training has also not been performed and therefore creates another limitation . In order to re-enforce the educational points that were garnered by the dental and medical students in their orientation week on-line learning event , further events should be included in years two through four with the addition of other health professional students . The next step to foster this collaboration is the creation of a fourth-year interprofessional elective for this cohort that will include face-to-face and / or virtual interactions with varied health professionals who care for individuals from varied backgrounds . encounters and health outcomes . For example , Eiser and Ellis describe African American cultural variations with regard to religion , use of natural remedies , and distrust in the health care system to underscore the role of cultural influences on health and health care encounters . 18
Learning events , such as described in our report , if inter-woven into curricula from day one of a student ’ s education , can raise awareness about health disparities and illuminate ways to eliminate cultural blunders that could negatively impact health care delivery and outcomes . Collaborative on-line engagement among dentists-and physicians-in-training for an educational session to examine the unique needs of diverse populations is a viable strategy to raise awareness about health disparities . Optimizing patient care is the ultimate goal of interprofessional education . 11 The on-line route made it possible for both dental students and medical students to participate , as there were no mutually available timeframes for an in-person collaborative session during an event-filled orientation week . Although the literature includes reports of successful implementation of on-line interprofessional didactic experiences between dental and medical students , the reports are limited and do not include the topics of caring for individuals from varied backgrounds and health disparities . In 2018 , Green et al reported that less than half of dental students , along with other health professional students , agreed that their training formally prepared them to care for patients who identify as sexual and gender minorities . 19 A need still exists to fill-in gaps in the teaching of health professional students to care for patients from diverse backgrounds . Students in the 21st century are technologically savvy and respond well to on-line assignments . Solomon et al reported that their participants in on-line events , including medical students and other health professional students , had positive perceptions about the use of web-based modules . 12 The authors emphasized the need to provide clear instruction and statement of deadlines when employing on-line assignments . 12 Care was taken to ensure the clarity of instruction and deadlines in the preparation of our on-line assignment with the inclusion of step-by-step directions .
Blue et al reported successful use of online teaching modules for an interprofessional course that included dental and medical students , amongst other learners . 8 Although our learning event was fully web-based , Blue et al recommended also including an in-person component for optimal interprofessional collaboration . 8 However , strict time and geographical constraints may not always allow for the creation of a hybrid educational session . Our data supports the effectiveness of an educational session including dental and medical students that occurs strictly online to raise awareness about diversity and health disparities . In a meta-analysis by Cook and colleagues , it was suggested that the effectiveness of web-based learning was similar to traditional teaching methods for professional students , including those in dental and medical school . 20
CONCLUSIONS
COVID-19 illnesses and associated deaths among certain populations have underscored the gravity of health inequities , thus magnifying the urgency and importance of educating students about health disparities early in their training . Providing education about caring for diverse patient populations in a web-based interprofessional format during new student orientation was effective in enhancing medical and dental students ’ awareness of health disparities . Time issues ( including scheduling conflicts ) and geographical constraints ( even those associated with a pandemic ) are major obstacles to providing interprofessional learning opportunities ; web-based didactics are a potential solution to overcoming these obstacles .
West Virginia Medical Journal • March 2021 • 35