Evaluation of resources for an interactive infection control instructional program

To evaluate educational resources used in developing and implementing an interactive infection control instructional program for first year (n=26) and second year (n=26) dental hygiene students in a baccalaureate program.

An educator's toolkit was used to develop online and interactive learning modalities for teaching infection control content. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate responses on a post instruction opinion survey on a 5-point Likert-type scale.

Following the instructional program, most students reported on an opinion survey that they understood infection control principles (92% first year, 100% second year), felt prepared to work safely in clinic (96% first year, 100% second year) and liked working at their own pace (88% first year, 100% second year). First year students valued the online learning components and were less favorable toward supplemental textbook readings and the limited time to complete all 10 modules. Most second year students valued the interactive workshop but did not take the time to complete the online videos and did not watch all of them. Seventy-nine percent of second year students (n=20) preferred the interactive workshop method over traditional lecture instruction completed during their first year.

This paper describes 1 institution's process of developing and implementing an infection control instructional program utilizing an educator's toolkit.