Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Health Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences (PhD)
Chair
Orchid George
Keywords
Oral-systemic health, professional education, curriculum research, admissions criteria
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health
Recommended Citation
Carry, Wendy Marie, "Evaluating Inclusion Rates of Oral-Systemic Health Connection Coursework in Dental and Medical Professional Programs' Admissions Requirements" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7432.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7432
Abstract
Oral systemic health connections (OSHC) are bidirectional, life-threatening, and a significant public health concern. Studies have identified over 200 OSHCs; however, the prevalence of foundational OSHC education in dental and medical professional programs remains unknown. This quantitative descriptive comparative pilot study aimed to explore the prevalence of predictor variables, dental and medical professional programs in the United States, and the criterion variable, including an OSHC admissions requirement for the 2025 academic year. The point-in-time count methodology served as the theoretical framework guiding this study and the development of the PiT-PARCI instrument. The proposed testing was replaced with alternative testing based on the findings in chapter four. A sample of 12 professional programs, comprising 6 dental and 6 medical programs, was analyzed with the exact binomial test and Fisher’s exact test. The exact binomial test indicated that the proportion of yes to no with a 0.5 probability was statistically significant (OR = 0.04, 95% CI [0.003, 0.607], p = 0.00049 two-tailed, 95% CI [0.000, 0.265]), highlighting the unrepresented inclusion outcome among the sampled professional programs. Fisher’s exact test revealed no significant difference between dental and medical programs (OR = 1, 95% CI [0.017, 58.438], X² (1), p = 1.00, two-sided), showing identical prevalence of admission requirement inclusion. Analysis showed that the PiT PARCI instrument was highly reliable, with statistically significant measures for Cronbach’s alpha (α = 1) and Cohen’s kappa (κ = 1, p = .001). Preliminary data informed the design and confirmed the feasibility of a larger study.
