Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 30, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
A standardized protocol for the comprehensive assessment of dental hygiene work
Shawn C Roll1, Mark E Hardison2, Jane L Forrest3
1Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Background:
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are prevalent in dental hygienists. Although engineering controls and ergonomic training is available, it is unclear why this intransigent problem continues. One possible barrier is that a comprehensive, standardized protocol for evaluating dental hygiene work does not exist.
Objective:
This study aimed to generate a valid and reliable observational protocol for the assessment of dental hygiene work.
Methods:
An iterative process was used to establish and refine an ecologically valid video acquisition and observation protocol to assess key activities, tasks, and performance components of dental hygiene work.
Results:
Good inter-rater reliability was achieved across all variables when the final coding scheme was completed by three independent raters.
Conclusions:
This work provides an exemplar of the process required to generate a comprehensive protocol for evaluating the work components of a particular job, and provides standardized nomenclature for use by scientists and practitioners interested in understanding and addressing the pervasive issue of work-related disorders in dental hygienists.
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