Social accountability is a new paradigm in dental education and a sort of cultural change. This study is an attempt to elaborate on the process of social accountability in the Iranian dentistry education system.
This study was carried out as a qualitative work based on a grounded theory approach. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and took part in deep semi-structured interviews, and data saturation was achieved with 14 interviews. The main interviews were private, and face-to-face interviews were held on different occasions (morning and afternoon) in a quiet and decent environment. The interviews were held by the author and voice-recorded with the permission of the interviewees. Data analyses were performed through the Strauss–Corbin method along with the interviews.
The results indicated that the process of social accountability featured three stages: antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes consisting of 619 codes, 16 subcategories, and 7 categories. Updating the curriculum, qualified students, appropriate educational environment, appropriate educational technology, monitoring and feedback throughout educational activities, proper interaction with society, and accountability to society's needs were the main categories in the study. The concept of proper interaction with society was the core variable.
The results indicated that the process of social accountability has major and effective requirements in the antecedent, mechanism, and outcome stages, and it has a good performance in fulfilling the current needs of society for dentistry services. However, to meet potential needs, it needs special attention and programming.