Factors Influencing California Dental Hygienists' Involvement in School-Based Oral Health Programs

To assess the influence of community oral health experiences during entry-level dental hygiene education on participation in community oral health events after graduation and the facilitators and barriers experienced by dental hygienists in participating in these programs.

A 27-item survey, consisting of items related to community oral health experiences during and after entry-level education, was distributed by the California Dental Hygienists' Association to all dental hygienists whose email addresses were in their database. Frequencies of participants' responses to each survey item were calculated. Chi-square analysis was performed to identify significant relationships among variables.

Response rate was 8%, with 513 out of the 6,248 contacted having responded. Additionally, 95% of the respondents had participated, as entry-level students, in community oral health experiences such as school-based oral health educational programs. Respondents agreed that participation in these programs was valuable to their professional development and encouraged them to participate after graduation; both these variables were related (p<0.01) to their participation in community experiences as a licensed dental hygienist. Most (75%) respondents reported participation in community events after graduation. The most commonly reported facilitators, encouraging participation, were an interest in helping people (89%) and professional development (59%). Barriers included conflict with work (61%), family time commitment (52%), and no knowledge of existing programs (24%).

Dental hygienists' involvement in school-based oral health programs is enhanced by their community experiences as a dental hygiene student. Barriers and facilitators need to be addressed to increase the number of programs and participants so that more children can benefit.