• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.409-419
• /
• 2020

Objectives: This study is intended to provide a basic resource on the role of dental hygienists. It also intends to establish the identity of future dental hygienists by analyzing the clinical roles of currently practicing dental hygienists through the perspectives of dental hygiene students. Methods: The analysis was performed using the phenomenological method, and it involved 11 participants enrolled between November 20, 2019 and January 20, 2020. Methods: The analysis was done in the phenomenological method on total 11 participants from November 20, 2019 to January 20, 2020. Results: They were exposed to various types of learning. They did not have a sense of belonging, and they experienced the burden of self-learning. They experienced work burden beyond the legal work boundary and a lack of infection control by clinical institutions. They were not respected as professional workers, and they had poor working conditions. Their expertise was not recognized. Conclusions: This study will facilitate appropriate awareness and establish the identity of dental hygienists by critically evaluating their challenges and working conditions and presenting alternatives.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.793-803
• /
• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of dental hygiene curricula related to clinical practice in Korea. Methods: Clinical work included the categories 'history taking, infection control, oral prophylaxis, preventive treatment, education/counseling, radiography/reading, assisting/cooperation, impression/bite registration, anesthesia, etc.', and 66 works were finally selected based on the frequent tasks of dental hygienists. The subjects were made to answer nine questionnaires. Results: It was found that the theory and practice of the main works operated quite differently in lectures and practice in each school. All types of practice were applied to all schools in the case of 'scaling'. The evaluation of clinical practice was also found to be very different from school to school. Conclusions: For dental hygienists to establish expertise in clinical practice and promote quality improvement, it is necessary to develop a core curriculum focusing on clinical practice. The standardized curriculum should be improved to an efficient and competency-centered one defining clearly the role of dental hygienists considering the needs and importance of clinical practice.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.515-524
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the ethical climate affects the job satisfaction of the clinical dental hygienists. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 207 dental hygienists. The data were analyzed by t-test or one-way ANOVA, multiple regression analysis, and Pearson's correlation analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics 19.0 program. Results: The factors affecting the job satisfaction of the general and ethical climate were the work experiences, the completion of vocational ethics education, the self interest type, the friendship type, the rule and the procedure type. When working experience and vocational ethics education are completed, self interest type and friend type have improved job satisfaction as the score increases, while job satisfaction is lowered as the rule and procedure type are increased. Conclusions: Since healthy ethical climate correlates with job satisfaction, it is necessary to establish an ethical climate in order to improve the job satisfaction of clinical dental hygienists. Efficient and stable management of ethical climate within dental clinics can be achieved when mutual interests are emphasized and respected rather than obedience is empathized to hospital regulations, procedures and policies.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.63-83
• /
• 2002

The purpose of this study was to serve as a basis for more efficient dental hygienist human resources utilization and for determining some of the right directions for supplementary education for dental hygienists, by examining how they actually worked and what they thought of job-related things. The subjects in this study were 537 dental hygienists who participated in a seminar by the Korea Dental Hygienist Association. After a survey was conducted, the following findings were given: 1. 50.2% of the dental hygienists investigated completed legally required eight-class education. Those who worked in clinics took less supplementary education classes than the others in the other types of dental institutions. The main reason they didn't receive supplementary education was financial burden and uncooperative employers. 73.2% took supplementary education at the association or its branches. The association was most favored by those in clinical sector as a place that provides supplementary education, followed by its branch and university in the order named. And the dental hygienists in public health sector preferred university most, and the next best favored one was the association and its branch in the order named. Those in clinical sector hoped to acquire clinical information on patient management, implant or aesthetics, and the dental hygienists in public health sector wanted to learn about health administration, public oral health operations and oral health education, which were different from what those in clinical sector wanted. 2. Regarding the period of service, 492% had worked for three years or more. This fact suggested that their service term and average age continued to grow. And they thought they would decide the retirement time on their own. 3. The most common yearly income ranged from 12 million won to 16 million won(40.7%). For-those in clinics, yearly income was 14.36 million won, and that of the dental hygienists who had worked for less than 3 years was 12.90 million won. 4. The Korea Dental Hygienist Association was most required to protect the rights and interests of the members and offer new knowledge and technology. 5. The largest group of them were engaged in patient management, and this type of job also was the most favored one for them to do. The greatest number of the dental hygienists in public health sector were in charge of dental treatment. 6. Concerning their turnover rate, 492% had never changed their occupation. Specifically, 70.0% of the respondents who had worked for less than 3 years had have no experience to do that. The time constraints for self-development and conflicts with other workers were the cause of their turnover. Those in dental hospital and general hospital changed their occupation chiefly due to the lack of time for self-development, and for the dental hygienists in clinics, the conflicts with other workers were the main reason. The above-mentioned findings suggested that the way the dental hygienists looked at things was undergoing change. The service area made a difference to their preference for the type of supplementary education and institution in charge of it, as those in public health and clinical sectors had a different opinion. And the dental hygienists in clinical sector had a different opinion as well, according to service area, about salaries, reason of not taking supplementary education, preferred type of supplementary education, cause of turnover, and type of occupation to which they hoped to change employment. To utilize and supply human resources in a more stabilized manner, job description should be more segmented, standardized and classified clearly, and dental hygienists should be motivated to perform their substantial jobs, including oral disease prevention, oral prophylaxis and oral health education. To make it happen, it seems that dentists are required to have a clear understanding of dental hygienist job and to change the way they look at it.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.9 no.12
• /
• pp.198-207
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between self-leadership, psychological empowerment and job satisfaction in dental hygienists, who form major manpower directly affecting dental care service, and to develop a plan for good-quality intra-organizational personal improvement. To collect data, convenience sampling was performed from May 1 to June 10, 2017 among clinical dental hygienists working at dental hospitals and clinics in Chungcheong and Jeolla Provinces and a self-administered questionnaire was used. Self-leadership was positively correlated with psychological empowerment and job satisfaction; psychological empowerment was positively correlated with job satisfaction. The factors for job satisfaction included psychological empowerment, dental system and self-conformity, and self-leadership. It has been confirmed that there is correlation among self-leadership, psychological empowerment, and job satisfaction in clinical dental hygienists; therefore, it is necessary to use positive psychological empowerment, establish a proactive self-leadership convergence program, and pay attention to the good direction and management of dental organizations with the objective of improving job satisfaction in dental hygienists.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.645-653
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to offer basic resources needed to solve conflicts and problems of communication among dental hygienists working in dental clinics by comprehending and analyzing their in-depth communication experiences. Methods: Individual depth interviews were conducted with 10 dental hygienists who had over one year of clinical experience and worked in dental clinics in Gwangju, from September 16 to October 15, 2020. Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis was performed. Results: The results of the interviews were grouped into four central categories: lack of communication due to differences in position, relationships they want to avoid, return to joint work, beginning of new communication. The participants of this study experienced difficulties in communicating with dental hygienists in the clinical field, but they overcame the conflicts by trying to understand others by putting themselves in others' shoes. Conclusions: This study is expected to contribute to providing good quality medical services to patients by promoting effective communication among dental hygienists.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.839-847
• /
• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the perception of clinical trials of dental hygienist. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 126 dental hygienists in Seoul, Kyonggi and other area from October 1 to November 15, 2012. The instrument of the study was adapted from Jung and reconstructed. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects(9 questions) and recognition for clinical trials(10 questions). Recognition for clinical trials instrument included recognition for clinical trial conception(2 questions), objective recognition(5 questions), and subjective recognition for clinical trial(3 questions). The instrument was score by Likert 5 scale and Cronbach alpha was 0.936 in the study. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 program and set at p<0.05. Independent t-test, chi-square test, one way ANOVA, and post-hoc Duncan test were done. Results: Those who had higher ages and higher education tended to have longer clinical careers(p<0.05). There was a significant difference in clinical trials between the level of education, clinical dental hygienists and professors. The differences in problem perception for activation of clinical trial according to workplace appeared to lack of publicity and inadequacy of facilities(p<0.05). Conclusions: To improve the perception of the clinical trials in dental hygienists, it is necessary to prepare the human resources programs, the additional curricula, continuing education courses and active publicity.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of happiness index in dental hygienists. This study can be used to improve the quality of life and the turnover intention in the dental hygienists. Methods: The subjects were 281 dental hygienists in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Chungcheong province. A self-reported questionnaire was completed by the subjects. The questionnaire consisted of 7 questions of general characteristics of the subjects, 7 questions of dental hygiene performance, and 9 questions of happiness index. The instrument for happiness index was modified from Suh and Koo. Cronbach's alpha was 0.850 in the happiness index measure by Likert 7 scale. The instrument for professionalism was modified from Baek and consisted of 25 questions measure by Likert 5 scale. Cronbach's alpha was 0.694 in the professionalism. The instrument for turnover intention was modified from Lee and consisted of 5 questions measured by Likert 5 scale. Cronbach's alpha was 0.712 in turnover intention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. for one way ANOVA, Duncan posthoc test, Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical regression. Results: The means of happiness index, professionalism and turnover intention of subjects were 4.44, 3.06 and 3.05, respectively. The happiness index was higher in those who are married(4.66), those who have high income, and those who have careers in dental hygienists(4.61). There were significant differences in the happiness index by the average daily working hours, place of treatment, work intensity and off duty hours. Conclusions: This study suggests that improvement of the happiness index in clinical dental hygienists requires the continuing and systematic education program and administrative support that can reduce the turnover intention.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.27-33
• /
• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting the retention intention of clinical dental hygienists. Methods: A total of 190 clinical dental hygienists were recruited as participants. Data were collected from March to May, 2023 and then analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression through PASW Statistics 26.0. Results: Mean scores for job crafting, job satisfaction, positive psychological capital and retention intention were 3.22, 3.46, 3.57 and 3.46 respectively. Retention intention showed a significant relationship with positive psychological capital (r=0.299), job crafting (r=0.214), and job satisfaction (r=0.649). The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that job satisfaction was the strongest predictor of retention intention, explaining 24.1% of the total variance (F=4.550, p<0.001). Conclusions: Variables that can affect the retention intention of clinical dental hygienists were identified, with job satisfaction emerging as a significant factor affect retention intention.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.146-152
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study was conducted to understand influencing factors of job satisfaction of clinical dental hygienists and use them as basic data for enhancing their job satisfaction. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 182 dental clinic hygienists from April 1 to April 30 of 2019. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Results: The influencing factors of job satisfaction of clinical dental hygienists included job stress and professional self-concept. Conclusions: The higher the professional self - concept, the higher the job satisfaction, the lower the job stress of clinical dental hygienist. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and apply a program that can enhance the professional self concept of clinical dental hygienists and reduce job stress.