Students' awareness of LGBT resources in Dutch dental schools

The aim of this survey-based study was to investigate dental students' perceptions regarding the available services and facilities for LGBT persons in Dutch dental school administrations.

A 19-item questionnaire, originally developed in English, was implemented for the study purposes. Translation into Dutch as well as cross-cultural and conceptual adaptation were performed according to well-established guidelines. A link to the survey was sent via e-mail to all registered undergraduate students at the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), and the dental schools of the University of Groningen (RUG) and the Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen (RUMC).

Of the 1,789 students initially invited to participate, 294 completed the online survey. Response rates among dental schools ranged between 7.60% and 20.24%. As a whole, the students of the participating dental schools were not cognizant of existing resources for LGBT students. There were significant differences in students' perceptions across schools, with RUG students being significantly less aware of LGBT resources compared to ACTA and RUMC (P < 0.05). Students' perceptions were not significantly influenced by school, sexual preference, and year of study (P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the responses of LGBT and non-LGBT students (P > 0.05).

Undergraduate students were generally not aware of LGBT resources in Dutch dental schools. This lack of knowledge calls for attention by dental school administrators, program directors, and faculty to foster a visible, comprehensive, culturally competent environment in dental education settings in The Netherlands.