Oral Health Therapy Research (ORAL30001)

This subject comprises three modules:

Health Policy: Policy making and organisations, stakeholders, processes and evidence, the influence of professions, public health policy and oral health and some current policy issues in oral health care.

Sociology: Concepts and theories on the arrangement of society and the influences that shape it; how people form values and cultures; class, status, gender and ethnicity; the influences of political, socio-demographic and socio-economic factors on health; the sociology of health and illness and its influences on research methodology.

Oral Health Therapy Research: Students to complete a project using a research framework (incorporating background review of the literature and evidence relevant to the project, a practical component and written reporting and presentation of findings) in one of the following units:

1. Health Promotion Project or

2. Elective Study Unit or

3. Research Project

Health Promotion comprises group project work in the field of oral health promotion. Students are allocated to a group to design, implement and evaluate a health promotion program for a community group. The student group will conduct a needs analysis using the principles of research methodology and evidence based practice to undertake a review of the existing knowledge and context for the program, formulate program objectives, design appropriate interventions to improve oral health status in the selected community group or setting; achieve ethical approval where required, implement and evaluate the intervention; analyse and present the results through an oral presentation and written report.

Elective Study Unit comprises development and project work in an area of interest to extend students’ expertise in one aspect of oral health therapy practice. This unit requires students to apply the principles of research methodology and evidence-based practice to undertake a review of the existing knowledge of the study topic, formulate learning objectives, undertake pre-determined activities to develop their learning and report their learning against their objectives in both written and oral forms. The unit may incorporate outreach work relevant to oral health therapy practice and education such as fieldwork placements in dental services, special needs or residential care settings, public health centres or visits/exchanges to other oral health therapy educational programs interstate or overseas.

Research Project comprises a group research project relevant to the field of oral health therapy. Students are allocated to a group to undertake a piece of original research under the supervision of academic staff of the school. The student group will conduct a literature review using the principles of research methodology and evidence based practice to undertake a review of the existing knowledge and context for the research, formulate study questions or hypotheses, design appropriate methods to collect data, achieve ethical approval, collect and analyse the data to answer the research question and present the results through an oral presentation and written report.

Appropriate academic supervisors will be appointed to work with students and support the projects.

A limited number of students may be able to undertake part of this subject as an Exchange with prior approval needed during 2 nd year BOH.