Dental Hygienist Attitudes toward Providing Care for the Underserved Population

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate registered dental hygienists' attitude toward community service, sensitivity to patient needs, job satisfaction and their frequency to volunteer care for the underserved population.

Methods: A 60 question survey instrument was developed and distributed to 306 participants. The survey instrument addressed the following variables: community service, sensitivity to patient needs, job satisfaction, social responsibility, spirituality and willingness to volunteer care. A total of 109 surveys were returned yielding a 33.9% response rate. SPSS version 19.0 was utilized for data analysis. Based on the factor analysis, the 6 original variables were reduced to 3 variables, which included attitude toward community service, job satisfaction and sensitivity to patient needs.

Results: For registered dental hygienists their level of education, membership in their professional association, attitude toward community service and sensitivity to patients were associated with their frequency of volunteering care for the underserved population. Additionally, a discriminant analysis indicated a strong prediction among registered dental hygienists attitude toward community service and job satisfaction to their frequency of volunteering care for the underserved population.

Conclusion: This research study of the factors that influence registered dental hygienists' frequency of volunteering care indicates how important oral health care preparatory norms and dispositions are to the underserved population. Understanding what persuades registered dental hygienists to volunteer care provides valuable information to registered dental hygienists, as well as dental hygiene programs regarding volunteering care for the underserved population and the importance of attitudes toward community service, sensitivity to patient needs and job satisfaction.

This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Health Services Research: Assess the impact of increasing access to dental hygiene services on the oral health outcomes of underserved populations.