Biomedical subjects

Rolf Attström

Publications and source records attributed to Rolf Attström.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Assessing behavioural change support abilities of the oral healthcare team.

Competent behavioural change intervention can be learned, practised and developed. Therefore, the teaching and assessment of this ability should be within the scope of both the undergraduate and post-graduate curriculum. Assessment should target knowledge base and skills in the areas of counselling, communication and behaviour. Assessment of the knowledge base should ideally be conducted in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, centrally based manner in the pre-clinical curriculum. Assessment of skills in the areas of communication, counselling and behaviour change is a wider aim that should be integral throughout the curriculum. In continuing education (CE) environments, an initial 'screening' assessment would help educators to adjust the course to the participants' background and needs. Furthermore, three major assessment schemes are proposed: (1) assessment of knowledge and skills, (2) evaluation of the whole course by the participants, and (3) assessment of the implementation process, four to six months after completion.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2004

The interactive examination: assessing students' self-assessment ability.

BACKGROUND: The ability to self-assess one's competence is a crucial skill for all health professionals. The interactive examination is an assessment model aiming to evaluate not only students' clinical skills and competence, but also their ability to self-assess their proficiency. METHODS: The methodology utilised students' own self-assessment, an answer to a written essay question and a group discussion. Students' self-assessment was matched to the judgement of their instructors. As a final task, students compared their own essay to one written by an "expert". The differences pointed by students in their comparison documents and the accompanying arguments were analysed and categorised. Students received individual feedback on their performance and learning needs. The model was tested on 1 cohort of undergraduate dental students (year 2001, n = 52) in their third semester of studies, replacing an older form of examination in the discipline of clinical periodontology. RESULTS: Students' acceptance of the methodology was very positive. Students tended to overestimate their competence in relation to the judgement of their instructors in diagnostic skills, but not in skills relevant to treatment. No gender differences were observed, although females performed better than males in the examination. Three categories of differences were observed in the students' comparison documents. The accompanying arguments may reveal students' understanding and methods of prioritising. CONCLUSIONS: Students tended to overestimate their competence in diagnostic rather than treatment skills. The interactive examination appeared to be a convenient tool for providing deeper insight into students' ability to prioritise, self-assess and steer their own learning.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed2004

The effects of an interactive software application on the self-assessment ability of dental students.

A randomised controlled trial was designed to test an Internet-based interactive application as a stand-alone support for the development of self-assessment skills among second-year dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malmö, Sweden. Fifty-two students were randomised into an experimental (n = 26) and a control group (n = 26). Both groups went through four identical learning cases in elementary clinical Periodontology during a period of 1 month. The experimental group received the cases with the interactive software, while the control group received them through a static web page. After the end of the learning phase, both groups were assessed blindly by two assessors during the interactive examination methodology. There was a moderate agreement between the two assessors, but both failed to find any significant differences between the two groups with regard to self-assessment skills and overall performance of the students. Students positively received the Internet support, but several attitude differences were observed between the two groups during the study. Time on task and competence with computers were positively correlated to assessment results for both groups. On the basis of these findings, it remains unclear if computer-based applications with automated feedback can constitute an effective remedial support for the improvement of self-assessment skills of students. In addition, for such applications to be successfully accepted, two factors are critical: students must have a clear perception of the benefits deriving from the use of the software and the use of the software should be integrated in the curriculum, replacing some of the existing workload.

Attitude to Computers↗

PubMed2003

Perceived risk of deteriorating periodontal conditions.

BACKGROUND: Interpretation of risk for periodontitis is critical for treatment planning. How periodontists assess risk for periodontitis is unclear. PURPOSE: To study (1) what factors periodontists use when assessing the risks for worsening periodontal conditions anticipating that no treatment would be provided, and (2) if risk assessment is consistent and independent of specialty background training. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medical history, clinical dental data, full-mouth intra-oral radiographs, and slide pictures were obtained from each of 51 subjects, and the information was provided to 23 examiners. RESULTS: The mean age of the study subjects was 51.5 years (SD +/- 17.7, range 23-81), with 28 women included. In 10 of the subjects, only gingivitis was identified, while 22 subjects had advanced chronic periodontitis. Risk scores assigned for 2 and 4 years differed significantly between European- and US-trained periodontists (p < 0.001) and between graduate students in training and periodontists from either the US or Europe (p < 0.01) (Wilcoxon n-pair test), with European periodontists scoring the lowest risks. Risk scores were correlated between groups (p < 0.01 with rho range 0.82-0.89) (Spearman's rank correlation). The best-fit model (r2 = 0.86) to assess perceived risk for worsening periodontal conditions based on data from all examiners combined included the following variables: (1) overall horizontal alveolar bone loss (p < 0.000), (2) age-adjusted proportional radiographic bone height score for the worst site (p < 0.000), and (3) proportion of pocket probing depths > or = 6.0 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Differences exist on the scale of risk values based on specialty training. Consistency in scoring patterns exists. The examiners based their assigned risk scores almost exclusively on measures of existing disease severity, including radiographic bone loss and numbers of periodontal pockets > or = 6.0 mm, and excluding most known risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, and poor oral hygiene.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Feasibility of and satisfaction with the use of low-bandwidth videoconferencing for examination of undergraduate students.

We investigated the feasibility and students' acceptance of Internet-based videoconferencing as a communications method during examinations. Thirty-nine second-year dental students took an interactive examination in periodontology, comprising self-assessment, essay writing, discussion and feedback. The students were randomly divided into two groups, which were examined through the standard classroom procedure (n =15) or through Internet-based videoconferencing (n =24). Students evaluated the experience using a standardized questionnaire. The technology proved to be reliable. The interactive examination technique was well accepted, although there was significantly less satisfaction in the videoconference group (P <0.01). There were no significant differences in the performance of students between the two modalities. Interaction was stressed as one of the major strengths of the examination by students in the conventional group, but it appeared to be less appreciated by the videoconference group. Internet-based videoconferencing can successfully facilitate a highly structured assessment, although students seem to prefer classroom assessment.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗