Comparing cultural competence among undergraduate and postgraduate dental students of Islamic Azad University of Isfahan

Cultural competence is defined as the ability of individuals and organizations to provide health services in accordance with cultural, social, and linguistic needs of the patients. Today, cultural competence is one of the important and necessary topics in the field of health. This study endeavored to examine cultural competence among dental students of Islamic Azad University of Isfahan.

In this cross-sectional study, among 590 undergraduate and postgraduate dental students of Azad University of Isfahan, applying a stratified sampling method, 150 students were surveyed using an online questionnaire (Medical Science Graduates' Cultural Competency Questionnaire) in the academic year 2021. The standard questionnaire includes 50 items and 8 components. The results were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Kruskal-Wallis post hoc test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation coefficient.

Among the respondents, 52.7% were females, and the mean age of the students was 24.8±4.1 years. The mean score of cultural competence among all students was 3.15±0.63, which was above average. There was a significant difference between cultural competence of students and its dimensions in three stages of basic sciences (2.95±0.65), pre clinic/clinic (2.95±0.67) and postgraduate levels (3.55±0.32). The highest level of cultural competence was found among postgraduate students (p<0.001). There was no significant relationship between students' gender and their cultural competence (p>0.05). However, a significant relationship was found between age and cultural competence (p<0.001 and r=0.37).

Regarding the low level of cultural competence among undergraduate dental students, and considering the importance of cultural competence to deal with the patients, it is necessary to design educational programs to promote cultural competence among students, especially undergraduate dental students.