Dental Hygienists’ Interprofessional Education and Collaboration Experiences: A survey of current behaviors and attitudes

Abstract

Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration in health care is needed for comprehensive patient care and improved health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess dental hygienists’ attitudes and behaviors on past interprofessional education experiences to determine how those experiences influence the ways they collaborate with other health care professionals.

Methods: Licensed dental hygienists in the United States were recruited to participate in this mixed methods study via social media sites and through the constituents of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. The survey instrument consisted of 23 items incorporating quantitative Likert-style, multiple-choice and qualitative open-ended questions designed to measure participants’ attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and interprofessional education (IPE), IPC behaviors in practice and previous IPE experiences.

Results: Of the 184 participants who opened the survey, 165 respondents met the inclusion criteria and completed the survey (n=165). Most of the participants indicated the belief that IPC was important (90%, n=147) and felt confident collaborating with other health care professionals (81%, n=133). While two-thirds of the respondents did not report previous IPE experience (66%, n=109), the majority reported collaborating with other health care professionals within the past six months (63%, n=102). Respondents who reported prior IPE, collaborated with other health care professionals more frequently, on average, than those without IPE experience. Most IPE experiences were case studies and on- and off-campus clinical rotations.

Conclusion: Findings suggest dental hygienists appreciate the importance of IPC and collaborate with other health care providers based on those attitudes, regardless of prior IPE experiences. Further research examining the best practices of IPE experiences could enrich the value of future collaborations between dental hygienists and other health care providers.