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E u r o S c i C o n C o n f e r e n c e o n
Dental & Dental
Hygiene
Dental & Dental Hygiene 2018
Journal of Dental and Craniofacial Research
ISSN 2576-392X
M a r c h 2 6 - 2 7 , 2 0 1 8
E d i n b u r g h , S c o t l a n d
Page 46
T
he aim of the study was to document a group of New Zealand (NZ) and
Swedish oral health professionals’ perceptions of their professional
work. During March and April 2016, 643 practising dental hygienists from
NZ and Sweden completed a survey focusing on their work practices and job
satisfaction. This paper reports responses of 61 participants who answered
the open-ended question asking the participants to document anything that
they deemed to be of interest regarding their chosen career. A general inductive
analysis of the data was undertaken. Four themes emerged in the participants’
responses, which included: (i) Work satisfaction, (ii) Professional relationship,
(iii) Continuing professional development and (iv) Areas of interests. Feeling
appreciated and respected in their work was important for the participants
to gain a sense of work satisfaction. Many participants were interested
in continued professional development focusing on their clinical practice
and participation in postgraduate courses, while others were interested in
furthering their knowledge of integrative approaches to public health initiatives.
However, participants reported that a number of barriers exist which hindered
their desires for continued professional development and postgraduate study.
In order to enhance their career satisfaction, dental hygienists need to feel
valued and have the opportunity for continuing professional development
and postgraduate education. This presentation will report key findings and
directions for further research focusing on better support for dental hygienists
and their practice.
Biography
H Olson has a Master’s Degree in Integrative Health Science
from the University of Kristianstad, Sweden. In 2015, she joined
the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry: New Zealand’s
National Centre for Dentistry, as a Lecturer in the Department
of Oral Sciences. She is now Head of Discipline for Dental Hy-
giene. She has 15 years of clinical work experience as a Dental
Hygienist in Scandinavia, providing care for patients of all ages
in different settings including private practice, the Community
Dental Service, Specialist Dentistry within the Department of
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic and Hospital Dentistry.
She has first-hand experience in Outreach Oral Health Care and
Health Promotion, which are her core areas of teaching. Some
of her interests are multi-professional team work, internation-
al collaboration, health care supervision and research on oral
health education.
hanna.olson@otago.ac.nzExploring New Zealand and Swedish dental hygienists’
perceptions of their chosen profession
H Olson, A Meldrum and L Smith
Sir John Walsh Research Institute, New Zealand
H Olson et al., J Den Craniofac Res 2018, Volume: 3
DOI: 10.21767/2576-392X-C1-002