Abstract
Purpose: To assess California dental hygiene educators' perceptions of an application of the American Dental Hygienists' Association's (ADHA) advanced dental hygiene practitioner model (ADHP) in medical settings where the advanced dental hygiene practitioner collaborates in medical settings with other health professionals to meet clients' oral health needs.
Methods: In 2014, 30 directors of California dental hygiene programs were contacted to participate in and distribute an online survey to their faculty. In order to capture non-respondents, 2 follow-up e-mails were sent. Descriptive analysis and cross-tabulations were analyzed using the online survey software program, Qualtrics™.
Results: The educator response rate was 18% (70/387). Nearly 90% of respondents supported the proposed application of the ADHA ADHP model and believed it would increase access to care and reduce oral health disparities. They also agreed with most of the proposed services, target populations and workplace settings. Slightly over half believed a master's degree was the appropriate educational level needed.
Conclusion: Among California dental hygiene educators responding to this survey, there was strong support for the proposed application of the ADHA model in medical settings. More research is needed among a larger sample of dental hygiene educators and clinicians, as well as among other health professionals such as physicians, nurses and dentists.
- advanced dental hygiene practitioner
- dental hygienist
- inter-professional collaboration
- mid-level provider
- mid-level oral health care provider
- advanced dental therapist
- dental therapist
- dental hygiene therapist
Footnotes
Lauren Smith MS, RDH, is in Clinical Practice, Danville and Palo Alto, California. Margaret Walsh, MS, MA, EdD, RDH, is Professor Emerita, Director of the Master of Science Degree Program in Dental Hygiene, Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco.
This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Health Services Research: Investigate how alternative models of dental hygiene care delivery can reduce health care inequities.
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