MIND--a five-state regional approach to continuing dental education

Area of Science:

• Continuing Dental Education
• Educational Television
• Health Communication

Background:

• The Midwest Institute for Non-traditional Dental Education (MIND) operated for two years as a regional continuing dental education center.
• Previous studies highlighted three critical factors for effective televised education: audience engagement, programming quality, and regular scheduling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of MIND's televised continuing dental education program.
• To identify challenges and areas for improvement in delivering dental education via television.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of viewing card responses and credit hours awarded to determine audience participation.
• Assessment of communication strategies, focusing on the effectiveness of a bulk-rate mailing system for outreach.
• Evaluation of programming quality, including content, presentation style, and technical aspects of televised courses.
• Consideration of audience diversity (dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists) in course selection.

Main Results:

• Approximately 20% of the potential audience participated in the telecast course offerings.
• The bulk-rate mailing system presented significant challenges in timely and effective communication, including issues with address accuracy and message delivery.
• Content relevance for diverse dental professionals (specialists vs. general practitioners, and auxiliary staff) and technical quality were identified as factors influencing engagement.

Conclusions:

• Educational television offers advantages for continuing dental education, including accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and convenience.
• Improvements are needed in communication systems to ensure direct and reliable contact with the target audience.
• Developing high-quality, relevant content that appeals to the entire dental team is crucial for maximizing program impact.