Evaluation of rural posting experience among final year dental students of University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Globally, evidence has shown that rural medical training promotes recruitment and retention of medical personnel translating into an increasing demand for undergraduate medical placements in rural communities. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe rural posting experience among final year dental students of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken among 4 sets of 142 final year dental students of the University of Ibadan who had their rural posting at Igboora, Southwest Nigeria using a forty-seven-item questionnaire. Survey sections included demographics, general experience, skill development, supervision and comparison between urban and rural dental postings. Frequencies of relevant variables were generated and chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables at p<0.05. Results The mean (SD) age of the students was 23.9 (2.4) years, there were more males 51.4% (73/142) than female s 48.6%(69/l42). T h e majority 73.9%( 105/142) agreed that their educational experience met their expectations of what a rural dental program was. The majority 90.8% (129/142) and 71.1% (101/142) disagreed that there was adequate access to information technology and library facilities respectively. All the students agreed that their research skills were developed and improved. The majority 83.8% (119/142) disagreed that the accommodation provided in the rural posting was better than that provided in the urban posting. All the students agreed that the rural posting provided them the opportunity to observe the various determinants of health. The majority 76.1% (108/142) reported that they will like to go for rural posting again. There was no significant difference between gender and experience of participants about rural and urban posting (p>0.05). Conclusions: There were both negative and positive feedbacks about rural dental postings from the final year dental students that should be considered to strengthen the programme.