Self-Care Practices of Dental Hygiene Students

Purpose: Little is known about the self-care practices of dental hygiene students. The purpose of this study was to explore the self-care practices among dental hygiene students to examine the relationships between self-care practices, work hours, and caregiver responsibilities.Methods: The validated Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile [HPLP II] survey was used to assess a convenience sample of dental hygiene students (n=416) in the United States (US) and Canada. The survey instrument consisted of 61 items in six subscales; spiritual growth, nutrition, interpersonal relations, health responsibility, physical activity, and stress management and was distributed to dental hygiene students through program directors and student social media sites. Data was analyzed using correlation, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallace and regression to explore relationships between the variables.Results: Eighty-one percent of the target population opened the link and completed the survey (n=337). Mean scores for interpersonal relations (M=3.00) and spirituality (M=3.03) subscales indicated respondents were often engaging in these behaviors. Mean scores for physical activity (M=2.26), stress management (M=2.31), nutrition (M=2.44), and health responsibility (M=2.30) sub-scales suggested respondents sometimes practiced these health promoting behaviors. Respondents working more off-campus hours reported stress management behaviors less frequently (p<0.05). Participants with children living in the home had the median scores of stress management behaviors (Md=2.07, IQR=0.41) across all types of living situations (p=0.002).Conclusion: Outcomes from this study identified the need for improvement in health promoting behaviors related to nutrition, physical activity, and stress management in dental hygiene students. In addition, students with off-campus work and caregiver obligations may need additional assistance with self-care and stress management strategies to support academic success, given the academic and clinical rigors of the dental hygiene program.