Study Shows Benefits of Working With HIV/AIDS Patients and Underserved

Training dental students to work with HIV/AIDS patients fosters positive attitudes toward caring for them, suggests a study conducted with help from RSDM students and faculty.

Researchers at the University of Boston School of Public Health collected data from five dental schools, including RSDM, to explore outcomes of student work in federally-funded programs designed to help patients with with HIV/AIDS.

As part of RSDM's CODE programs, students are required to spend time in RSDM's clinics in South Jersey, which treat many HIV/AIDS patients. For more than 15 years, RSDM has received federal Ryan White funding to care for people who have the condition.

According to the study, which surveyed a total of 305 students and residents, working in clinics that served HIV patients resulted in an increase in knowledge about treating patients with the condition and a more positive attitude toward their care. The study, which was published in the Journal of Dental Education, was created to evaluate the impact of the Community-Based Dental Partnership Program, which is funded and overseen by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.