METHODS: We recruited 164 healthy controls (HC) and 120 cognitively impaired (CI) subjects- 47 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 73 mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia participants, from four countries between January 2015 and August 2016 to determine the usefulness of a single version of the VCAT, without translation or adaptation, in a multinational, multilingual population. The VCAT was administered along with established cognitive evaluation.
RESULTS: The VCAT, without local translation or adaptation, was effective in discriminating between HC and CI subjects (MCI and mild AD dementia). Mean (SD) VCAT scores for HC and CI subjects were 22.48 (3.50) and 14.17 (5.05) respectively. Areas under the curve for Montreal Cognitive Assessment (0.916, 95% CI 0.884-0.948) and the VCAT (0.905, 95% CI 0.870-0.940) in discriminating between HCs and CIs were comparable. The multiple languages used to administer VCAT in four countries did not significantly influence test scores.
CONCLUSIONS: The VCAT without the need for language translation or cultural adaptation showed satisfactory discriminative ability and was effective in a multinational, multilingual Southeast Asian population.
METHODS: Thirteen dental educators from East and Southeast Asian countries (Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan) participated in the present study. The present study adopted a transcendental phenomenological approach. One-to-one semi-structured online interviews were conducted. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns in the educators' experiences.
RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the present study. First, perceptions of the importance of dental materials science, highlighting its relevance in clinical practice, patient care, and lifelong learning. Second, the challenges faced in teaching dental materials science include limited instructional time, complex content, and insufficient resources. Third, specific strategies, such as applying interactive teaching methods, integrating clinical scenarios, and promoting critical thinking skills have been suggested to enhance teaching and learning.
CONCLUSION: Understanding dental educators' experiences can improve dental materials science education, curriculum development, teaching methods, and faculty training programmes, ultimately enhancing the knowledge and skills of dental students in this field.