| Autor: |
Cardoso FB; Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Department of Oral Medicine, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Wagner VP; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Pathology, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Corrêa APB; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, TelessaudeRS-UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Martins MAT; Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Department of Oral Medicine, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Martins MD; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Pathology, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., D'Ávila OP; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, TelessaudeRS-UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Gonçalves MR; Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Division of Primary Health Care , Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Harzheim E; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Umpierre RN; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, TelessaudeRS-UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Carrard VC; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRS, School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Pathology, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. |
| Abstrakt: |
Oral cancer represents a public health issue because of its high mortality rate, resulting mainly from diagnostic delays. Insufficient training in oral diagnosis is usually perceived by dentists. Distance learning could be used as an auxiliary tool to bridge that gap. This study evaluated the impact of a distance learning course on oral mucosal lesion diagnosis offered to public healthcare dentists. Participants of an online course answered a pretest/posttest comprising clinical images of 30 clinical cases. Participants were questioned about the diagnosis and informed their decision on the cases (referring the cases to a specialist or managing them themselves), as a parameter of perceived self-efficacy. A total of 442 dentists enrolled in the course. Their pass rate was 97%. Classification of the nature of the lesions, diagnostic hypotheses, sensitivity, and specificity improved by 13.4%, 10.0%, 13.4%, and 6.6%, respectively (p<0.01, Wilcoxon test). Regarding management, there was a 16.6% reduction in the intention to refer cases, while confidence in the diagnosis of benign lesions increased by 40%. A distance learning course may be useful in continuing education actions for primary care dentists, improving their diagnostic abilities and encouraging them in the management of oral lesions. Moreover, this strategy could contribute to disseminating knowledge to remote regions, particularly among primary health care professionals. |
