(Press-News.org) Alexandria, VA, USA – A study aiming to determine experiential impact on student-empathy in relation to timing of when they experienced a VR-simulation of homelessness was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
The abstract, “Evaluating Homelessness Empathy Through Virtual Reality Among Dental Students” was presented during the “Late Breaking Abstracts I” Poster Session that took place on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 3:45 p.m. Central Standard Time (UTC-6).
The study, by Tracy Lynn de Peralta of University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, Aurora, USA, included a population of first-year DDS students and was conducted during the 2023 fall semester of a public health course. The public attitudes about homelessness validated-survey from the literature was implemented using Qualtrics and was distributed to 81 students via QR code after completion of their VR experience. The survey used 24 items on a 5-point Likert scale that measured unhoused-empathy. Ordinal data was analyzed using SPSS to determine significance with the Student T-test to compare means between one group who completed the VR experience prior to visiting a federally qualified health center and completing an in-person poverty simulation (group 1) and another group who completed the visit and poverty simulation prior to completing the VR experience (group 2). A response rate of 91.4% (n=74) was observed.
Out of the survey-items, 4 items measured statistically significant changes in empathy after the VR experience. These items include a reduction in compassion (t=-2.121, p=.04), reduction in trust of unhoused people (t=-2.676, p=.01), belief that unhoused people spoil shared publi parks (t=-2.205, p=.03), and reduction of the belief that unhoused people have the right to sleep in public open spaces (t=2.007, p=.05).
While participants were empathetic to unhoused populations, empathy dropped for those who completed the visit and poverty simulation prior to completing the VR experience. Future research will include collection of qualitative data to better understand significant decreases in empathy after targeted educational experiences have taken place.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of IADR. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.
END
Evaluating homelessness empathy through virtual reality among dental students
2024-03-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Smart connected oral health community (SMARTeeth)
2024-03-19
Alexandria, VA, USA – A study aiming to assess an innovative “SMARTeeth” program that provides a digital tool-enabled oral health screening for underserved pregnant women at an obstetric office facilitated by community health workers (CHWs). was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
The abstract, “Smart Connected Oral ...
FGF-2 promotes periodontal healing in an osteoporosis model rat
2024-03-19
Alexandria, VA, USA – A study investigating the effects of local application of fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) on periodontal healing in osteoporosis model rats was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
The abstract, “FGF-2 Promotes Periodontal Healing in an Osteoporosis Model Rat” was presented during the “Periodontal ...
Social bonding gets people on the same wavelength
2024-03-19
When small hierarchical groups bond, neural activity between leaders and followers aligns, promoting quicker and more frequent communication, according to a study published on March 19th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Jun Ni from Beijing Normal University, China, and colleagues.
Social groups are often organized hierarchically, where status differences and bonds between members shape the group’s dynamic. To better understand how bonding influences communication within hierarchical groups and which brain regions are involved in these processes, the researchers recorded 176 three-person ...
Low social status increases risk of health problems from alcohol problems
2024-03-19
Men and women with lower income or education levels are more likely to develop medical conditions related to alcohol abuse compared to similar individuals with a higher socioeconomic status. Alexis Edwards of Virginia Commonwealth University, US, and colleagues report these findings in a new study published March 19th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.
The World Health Organization estimates that harmful alcohol use accounts for 5.1% of the global burden of disease and injury worldwide, and results in three million deaths ...
ChatGPT to help dental students retain knowledge and enhance performance
2024-03-19
Alexandria, VA, USA – A study aiming to utilize current dental course materials, syllabi, and textbooks to investigate ChatGPT's potential benefits for dental students. was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
The abstract, “ChatGPT to Help Dental Students Retain Knowledge and Enhance Performance” ...
Change in MYCN-driven cell state opens therapeutic window in high-risk neuroblastoma
2024-03-19
(Memphis, Tenn – March 19, 2024) MYCN is a gene associated with cell proliferation and growth, which is mutated in many types of cancer. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital studying high-risk neuroblastoma found that MYCN plays a role in modifying the cellular state, causing a positive feedback loop that leads to a faster progressing disease. Their work to understand this process revealed a potential therapeutic target in the protein KDM4. Inhibiting KDM4 demonstrated strong anticancer ...
Review of California's mental health crisis programs identified gaps and needs for consistent funding, community engagement
2024-03-19
Mental illness is a major public health issue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 20% of U.S. adults live with a mental illness, like depression and anxiety. For perspective, this is more than all adults with coronary heart disease (5%) and diabetes (14.7%) combined. Yet, understanding and addressing mental illness remains very challenging.
A team of UC Davis experts were tasked with evaluating the services of 15 mental health crisis programs in California. These programs designed for adult and transitional age youth (ages 16-25) were funded between 2018 and 2021 by ...
Disrupting Wnt signaling in the junctional epithelium stem cell niche causes periodontitis
2024-03-19
Alexandria, VA, USA – A study aiming to evaluate how biochemical inhibition of endogenous Wnt signaling affects barrier functions of the junctional epithelium was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA.
The abstract, “Disrupting Wnt Signaling in the Junctional Epithelium ...
Targeting Extracellular Vesicles, organized by the World Mitochondria Society and the International Society of Microbiota, is scheduled for October 17-18, 2024 in Malta
2024-03-19
The World Mitochondria Society (WMS) and the International Society of Microbiota (ISM) are proud to announce their collaboration in organizing the inaugural Conference on Targeting Extracellular Vesicles, to be held on October 17-18, 2024, at Corinthia Palace in Malta.
This groundbreaking event will delve into the multifaceted roles of extracellular vesicles (EVs), particularly their interactions with mitochondria and microbiota, shaping the future of EV-based medicine.
The scientific board - composed of Ramaroson Andriantsitohaina, Marvin Edeas, Carla Lopes, Devika Manickam, Didier Serteyn, and Volkmar Weissig stated: “WMS and ISM will jointly spotlight EVs. Tailored discussions on ...
Icariin-releasing 3D-printed scaffolds for in situ regeneration of cleft bone
2024-03-19
Alexandria, VA, USA – A study exploring the potential of 3D-printed scaffolds with controlled delivery of small molecule, icariin (ICA), to promote cleft bone regeneration through recruitment and activation of endogenous stem/progenitor cells was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for ...