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Objectives: Entry‐level dental hygiene programs give associate (AD) and bachelor degrees (BD). The objectives were to compare how AD versus BD students differ in career‐related role models and information sources, career motivations, and satisfaction and to explore the relationships between career motivations and satisfaction. Methods: Two hundred seventy‐one students in AD and 269 students in BD programs responded to a survey. Results: AD students were older than BD students (26.71/23.6; p < 0.001). Both groups were most likely to name a nurse/dental hygienist (37.6%/37.3%) as role models in their families, were likely to have shadowed a dental hygienist (77.6%/75.0%), and had talked to a health professional (27.7%/23.7%) prior to program application. BD students decided earlier to become dental hygienists (17.20/19.97 years; p < 0.001) and were less likely to have been dental assistants before than AD students (28.3%/36.9%; p = 0.034). Both groups agreed strongly that they wanted to become dental hygienists to help patients (5‐point scale with 5 = agree strongly: 4.88/4.86), make a difference in the life of patients (4.88/4.86) and because it is a flexible career (4.83/4.80). Open‐ended responses showed that 62.4% of AD students compared to 35.3% of BD students choose their career because of lifestyle considerations (p < 0.001), while 47.2% of BD students versus 38.0% of AD students wanted to work in the healthcare field (p < 0.001). Both groups had high job satisfaction (3‐point scale: 2.94/2.97). For AD students, job satisfaction correlated with wanting to help patients (r = 0.49; p < 0.01) and with making a difference in the life of patients (r = 0.52; p < 0.001). For BD students, wanting to work in a team (r = 0.34; p < 0.001) and having a dentist in the family (r = 0.32; p < 0.001) correlated with job satisfaction. Conclusions: Dental hygiene students in AD versus BD programs differ in the factors that are associated with job satisfaction. Dental hygiene educators can utilize these findings when recruiting future students. The findings related to motivational determinants of job satisfaction can guide educational efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this pilot study were to assess dental hygiene faculty members' perceptions of the importance of motivational interviewing (MI) and their confidence in teaching students about MI and to determine the effect of MI training sessions on those perceptions. Participants were a convenience sample of all 16 dental hygiene faculty members who teach in the clinic at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Participants' perceptions were assessed prior to a workshop in MI (pretest), immediately after the workshop (posttest 1), and eight months after the workshop, at the end of the academic year (posttest 2). During the same period, some of the workshop participants took part in team grading sessions of audio recordings of student-patient MI interactions. The results showed that the majority of the faculty members perceived it was important to personally embrace the overall spirit of MI during patient care, and they were confident supporting students as well. Their ratings for embracing the spirit of MI increased from pretest to posttest 1, but slightly decreased at posttest 2. This trend was also seen in their assessment of the importance of and their confidence in teaching the eight MI strategies over time. Among the workshop participants, 56% were part of team grading; they reported the most helpful professional development activities overall were team grading (58%) and the workshop (25%). These results suggest the importance of making use of a variety of faculty development activities and of introducing appropriate follow-up to training sessions over time to ensure long-lasting effects. Future research using carefully designed, multi-institution, longitudinal studies is needed to determine the most effective ways to prepare dental hygiene faculty members to educate their students about MI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to assess curricular coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) content in U.S. and Canadian dental schools and U.S. dental hygiene programs, including hours of LGBT content, pedagogy used, and assessment methods, and to determine whether respondents perceived their institution's coverage as adequate. Data were collected from academic deans at 32 U.S. and two Canadian dental schools and from program directors at 71 U.S. dental hygiene programs (response rates 49%, 20%, 23%, respectively). The results showed that 29% of responding dental schools and 48% of responding dental hygiene programs did not cover LGBT content. Among the respondents, dental schools dedicated on average 3.68 hours and dental hygiene programs 1.25 hours in required settings to LGBT content. Lectures (dental schools 68%, dental hygiene programs 45%) and small group instruction (43%, 25%) were reported as the most common methodology used in teaching this content. Most of the responding dental schools and dental hygiene programs covered HIV (85%, 53%), oral disease risk (63%, 54%), and barriers to accessing health care for LGBT people (58%, 38%). Up to a third reported no need for coverage of topics such as sexual orientation (21%, 32%), coming out (29%, 37%), transitioning (29%, 38%), and sex reassignment surgery (32%, 35%). Assessment was through written examinations (41%, 30%) and faculty-observed patient interactions (21%, 23%); some respondents (20%, 33%) reported no assessment of learning outcomes. The most frequently endorsed strategies for increasing LGBT content were receiving curricular material focusing on LGBT-related health issues and health disparities and having trained faculty to teach LGBT content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005, Public Act No. 161 (PA 161) was passed in Michigan, allowing dental hygienists to practice in approved public dental prevention programs to provide services for underserved populations while utilizing a collaborative agreement with a supervising dentist. The aims of this study were to assess how well dental and dental hygiene students and faculty members and practicing dental hygienists have been educated about PA 161, what attitudes and knowledge about the act they have, and how interested they are in additional education about it. University of Michigan dental and dental hygiene students and faculty members, students in other Michigan dental hygiene programs, and dental hygienists in the state were surveyed. Respondents (response rate) were 160 dental students (50%), 63 dental hygiene students (82%), 30 dental faculty members (26%), and 12 dental hygiene faculty members (52%) at the University of Michigan; 143 dental hygiene students in other programs (20%); and 95 members of the Michigan Dental Hygienists' Association (10%). The results showed that the dental students were less educated about PA 161 than the dental hygiene students, and the dental faculty members were less informed than the dental hygiene faculty members and dental hygienists. Responding dental hygiene faculty members and dental hygienists had more positive attitudes about PA 161 than did the students and dental faculty members. Most of the dental hygiene faculty members and dental hygienists knew a person providing services in a PA 161 program. Most dental hygiene students, faculty members, and dental hygienists wanted more education about PA 161. Overall, the better educated about the program the respondents were, the more positive their attitudes, and the more interested they were in learning more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there are many benefits of interprofessional health care, no previous research has sought to define the status of interprofessional education (IPE) in U.S. dental hygiene programs. The aims of this study were to assess how these programs engage in IPE, the challenges they encounter, and the value they place on IPE. Additionally, the study explored how program characteristics are related to IPE. Data were collected with a web-based survey sent to all 322 U.S. dental hygiene program directors (response rate: 33% of the 305 successfully contacted). The majority of the responding programs were located at institutions with nursing (90%) and other allied health programs (85%). They were likely to collaborate with nursing (50%), other allied health (44%), and dental assisting programs (41%), but were less likely to collaborate with dental schools (28%). IPE was most likely to occur in volunteer activities (68%), basic science courses (65%), and communication training/behavioral science courses (63%/59%). The most frequently reported challenges for IPE were schedule coordination (92%) and curriculum overload (76%). The majority of the respondents agreed that IPE was a priority for the dental hygiene profession in the U.S. (59%) and for the program directors personally (56%). Programs granting bachelor degrees were more likely to have IPE as a priority than programs that did not grant such degrees (scale of 1-5 with 5=most important: 3.81 vs. 2.88; p<0.01). The longer the students spent in the programs, the more those programs engaged in IPE (r=0.21; p<0.05). The data collected in this study can contribute to future efforts to help dental hygiene programs engage in meaningful IPE and contribute to developing interprofessional care in the U.S. health care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to assess how U.S. undergraduate dental hygiene programs recruit students, especially students from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, and how the program directors value recruiting those students, how satisfied they are with their efforts, which practices they use, and which challenges they encounter. Relationships between diversity-related recruitment motivation and satisfaction and the program and recruitment characteristics were also explored. Survey data were collected from 56 of the 287 programs that could be successfully contacted with individual emails to their directors (response rate: 20%). The majority of responding programs recruited students into their programs by using written materials (91%), websites (91%), on-campus events (77%), and high school visits (52%). However, only 20% had written materials and 13% special events for recruiting students from URM groups. While 75% of the responding program directors considered high grade point averages (GPAs) to be a priority and 85% thought high GPAs were important/very important when recruiting students, only 17% considered it a priority to recruit URM students, and only 35% reported thinking it was important/very important to do so. The more of a priority it was to have a diverse student body and the more important the respondents considered it, the more likely they were to have written URM-specific recruitment materials (r=0.34; p<0.05/r=0.39; p<0.01). The more the respondents valued ACT scores, the less likely they were to engage in URM-specific recruitment efforts (r=-0.38; p<0.05/r=-0.34; p<0.05). If the dental hygiene profession is to better reflect the racial/ethnic makeup of the U.S. population, dental hygiene programs' considerations and efforts related to the recruitment of URM students need to be reconsidered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) is considered to be fundamental in the treatment of periodontal disease. Advanced area specific instruments were designed to increase the clinician's ability to effectively access root furcation areas during NSPT. The purpose of this study was to explore clinical dental hygienists' familiarity, utilization, and perceived efficacy of advanced instruments in root furcation areas during NSPT. Methods A randomized sample (n=3,500) of licensed dental hygienists in Michigan was invited to participate in a paper-based, mail survey. The 10-item instrument consisted of demographic, multiple choice, Likert scale, and open-ended questions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results A total of 1,156 surveys were returned; 858 met the inclusion criteria for a response rate of 24.5%. Respondents who graduated between 2010-2020 than those who graduated between 1990-1999 were more likely to utilize advanced instruments and those who graduated in 1989 or earlier (16.0% and 19.9% respectively). Respondents familiar with advanced instruments were more likely to use them in furcation areas during NSPT than those less familiar with the instruments (95% CI [18.1, 29.6], p<0.001). Respondents who perceived advanced instruments to be effective in furcation areas were more likely to utilize them (95% CI [1.0, 8.0], p<0.05) during NSPT. Most respondents indicated that they became familiar with advanced instruments during their dental hygiene education or through continuing education courses. Conclusion Familiarity with advanced instruments and perceived efficacy of these instruments for accessing root furcations increased the likelihood of clinical dental hygienists utilizing them during NSPT. Dental hygiene education and continuing education programs should continue to provide opportunities for students and practicing clinicians to learn NSPT instrumentation techniques utilizing advanced instruments designed for furcation access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Professional identity formation is positively influenced by roles models, mentors, and experiential learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role membership in the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) plays in developing and sustaining professional identity, and to explore whether differences exist between how students and licensed professionals perceive this role. Methods: A 48-item survey consisting of multiple choice, Likert scale, and open-ended items was created, and pilot tested before dissemination to student (SM) and licensed professional members (LM) of the ADHA via an electronic survey platform. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: Of the 31,479 surveys sent to ADHA members in the database, 1,983 were completed, for a response rate of 6.3%. Most respondents were licensed professionals (86%, n=1,699), female (98%, n=1,940) and White (84%, n=1,668). Over one-third were over 55 years of age (37%, n=727). Continuing Education and Evidence-based Research resources were identified as positively affecting professional identity (4.0 or higher means). Advocacy efforts, the Journal of Dental Hygiene, and Access Magazine had a significantly greater positive influence on LMs professional identity (p<0.05) while SMs reported patient care resources and career support had a greater influence on their professional identity (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Member benefits in the ADHA positively influence the professional identities of students and licensed professionals. Dental hygiene students most value benefits that will support their roles as future health care professionals, while licensed professionals identified evidence-based resources and advocacy efforts as instrumental in sustaining their professional identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based, patient-centered counseling approach for eliciting behavior change. In 2012, the University of Michigan (U-M) Dental Hygiene Program significantly enhanced their behavior change curriculum by reinforcing and building upon the Motivational Interviewing segment. The purpose of this study was to examine students' perceptions of the importance of MI and their confidence in applying it during patient care. Methods: A convenience sample of 22 U-M Class of 2015 dental hygiene students who had received an enhanced curriculum participated in this study, utilizing a retrospective, pre-test/post-test design. Results: A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the differences in average ranks between T1 (Retrospective Pre-Test) and T4 (Post-Test 3) for the importance and confidence questions at each time point for the Class of 2015. Students' perceptions of importance increased with statistical significance in five out of eight MI strategies. Perceptions in confidence increased in seven out of eight strategies. Effect size ranged from .00 to .55. Assessment of qualitative data provided additional insight on student experiences. Conclusion: Student perceptions of importance of using MI and their confidence in applying MI increased in a majority of the strategy categories. Successes with patient health behavior change and challenges with time to integrate this in practice were noted. Research on the longitudinal impact and faculty feedback calibration is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]