Academic Journal
Attitudes of Virginia Dental Hygienists Towards Dental Therapists
| العنوان: | Attitudes of Virginia Dental Hygienists Towards Dental Therapists |
|---|---|
| المؤلفون: | Burns, Helene M., Tolle, Susan L., Ludwig, Emily A., Suedbeck, Jessica R. |
| المصدر: | Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications |
| بيانات النشر: | ODU Digital Commons |
| سنة النشر: | 2022 |
| المجموعة: | Old Dominion University: ODU Digital Commons |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: | Dental hygienist attitudes, Dental auxilliaries, Educational status, Clinical competence, Human, Virginia, Confidence intervals, T-tests, Chi square test, Health services accessibility, Fisher's exact test, Medically underserved, Dental Hygiene, Dental Public Health and Education |
| الوصف: | Purpose: The state of Virginia faces a reported dental health professional shortage affecting approximately half of its residents.The purpose of this study was to assess the opinions and attitudes of dental hygienists in Virginia toward a mid-level dental provider model, dental therapists (DTs), and to determine whether current education level and years of practice affected opinions regarding the education requirements for DTs. Methods: A 22-item questionnaire was distributed online to a convenience sample of Virginia dental hygienists (n=910). Items assessed attitudes of participants toward the DT using a seven-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Participants were asked to provide demographic information and to respond to open-ended questions regarding potential advantages and/or disadvantages to DTs. Independent samples t-tests and chi-square analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: A response rate of 22% was obtained (n=200). Most respondents agreed a DT was needed in Virginia (M=5.78, p<0.001) and supported the concept that dental therapy could be a solution to the problem of access to care issues in Virginia (M=5.97, p<0.001). While most respondents agreed it was important for Virginia to adopt legislation for a dental therapy model (M=5.89, p<0.001), most disagreed that DTs’ practice should be restricted to acknowledged underserved areas in the state (M=3.19, p<0.001). No significant association was found between years of practice and opinions toward education requirements for DTs; however, a significant association was found between current education level and opinions toward education requirements for DTs (Fisher’s Exact Test=34.17, df=9, p=.000, Cramer’s V=.28). Conclusion: Results revealed Virginia dental hygienists had overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward DTs. Research with a larger sample could provide more insight into opinions of the Virginia dental hygienist population regarding this mid-level oral health care provider. |
| نوع الوثيقة: | article in journal/newspaper |
| وصف الملف: | application/pdf |
| اللغة: | unknown |
| Relation: | https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/dentalhygiene_fac_pubs/59; https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/dentalhygiene_fac_pubs/article/1059/viewcontent/Tolle_2022_AttitudesofVirginiaDentalHygienistsToward961OCR.pdf |
| الاتاحة: | https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/dentalhygiene_fac_pubs/59 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/context/dentalhygiene_fac_pubs/article/1059/viewcontent/Tolle_2022_AttitudesofVirginiaDentalHygienistsToward961OCR.pdf |
| رقم الانضمام: | edsbas.628A156F |
| قاعدة البيانات: | BASE |
| الوصف غير متاح. |