Influence of Dental Hygienist’s Job Satisfaction, Psychological Ownership, and Job Engagement on Job Performance / 치위생과학회지

Background@#This study is to identify the factors that affect job satisfaction, psychological ownership, and job engagement of dental hygienists on job performance and use them as basic data for manpower management of dental hygienists. @*Methods@#The survey was conducted by 344 clinical dental hygienists working in dental medical institutions. The collected data is PASW Statistics ver. 20.0 was used to analyze. @*Results@#The job satisfaction level of the dental hygienist was 3.38±0.52, and the question that ‘I feel that my ability to solve problems has improved compared to the past.’ was 3.92±0.80. There were significant differences in job satisfaction, psychological ownership, and job engagement according to general characteristics in age, marriage, education, career, current work experience, and position. There were significant differences in job performance according to general characteristics in age, marriage, education, career, current work experience, position, and number of dental hygienists. Factors influencing job performance were practical activities, income, patient relations, absorption, vigor, dedication, and the number of dental hygienists. @*Conclusion@#Finding different ways to use psychological ownership and job engagement through the job satisfaction of a dentalhygienist, and to and to utilize it as basic data for efficient manpower management through job performance.

A Qualitative Study on Job Satisfaction of Dental Hygienists with Low Experience / 치위생과학회지

Background@#Job satisfaction of dental hygienists has been discussed continuously in dental hygiene research. It has been the most representative performance variable in dental and human resource management. However, in quantitative research, most of the studies have analyzed the causal relationship with variables related to dental hygienists’ job satisfaction. The existing qualitative research contains only the studies that targeted dental hygienists with an experience of more than 10 years. The present study aimed to understand and to characterize the job satisfaction of dental hygienists with an experience of 2 to 10 years and to compare it with the qualitative research on dental hygienists with an experience of 10 or more years. @*Methods@#An in-depth interview of dental hygienists with 2 to 10 years of experience working in 10 dental clinics was conducted.For data analysis, Giorgi’s analysis method was used. @*Results@#After analyzing the meaning of job satisfaction of dental hygienists, 180 semantic words and 19 subcategories were derived. The results of the interview were categorized into for central meanings: recognition and rewards, work experience and ability improvement, occupational characteristics, and work characteristics. Recognition and rewards included workplace recognition, patient recognition, self-effort and recognition, and the feeling of being rewarded. Work experience and ability improvement included various work experiences and factors relates to improving the work ability. Occupational characteristics included professional job, interest and persistence, job extensibility, and no burden of employment. Work characteristics included working conditions and separation of work and private life. @*Conclusion@#The development of tools to measure the level of dental hygienists’ job satisfaction after long-term service and to conduct follow-up research regarding ways and effects to improve job satisfaction is needed.

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Quality of Work Life of Dental Hygienists Based on the Culture-Work-Health Model / 치위생과학회지

This study investigated the relationship between the organizational culture, organizational support, organizational health, personal health, and quality of work life of dental hygienists and analyzed the factors affecting the quality of work life in order to identify ways to improve their quality of work life. A total of 320 dental hygienists completed a self-administered survey; after excluding data from 21 respondents, 299 responses were included in the analysis. Frequency analyses, t-tests, one-way analysis of variation (ANOVA), and correlation analyses were conducted. A path analysis was also conducted to confirm the causal relationships. The findings are as follows. First, there was a significant difference in several general characteristics of the organizational culture including years in the current job and the number of dental hygienists; organizational support including age and the number of dental hygienists; organizational health including years in the current job and annual salary; and personal health including annual salary. Second, the quality of work life showed a positive correlation with organizational culture, organizational support, personal health, and organizational health in that order. Third, the results of path analysis revealed that organizational culture had a positive effect on organizational support; organizational support and personal health on organizational health; organizational support on personal health; and organizational support and organizational health on quality of work life. In addition, organizational support and organizational health had a direct effect on the quality of work life, while organizational culture, organizational support, and personal health had an indirect effect. These results indicated existence of a relationship among organizational culture, organizational support, organizational health, personal health, and quality of work life. It is necessary to identify ways to improve the quality of work life of dental hygienists.

Validity and Reliability of a Tool Measuring Long-Term Employment Factors among Dental Hygienists / 치위생과학회지

Dental hygienists are important members of any dental clinic. They are recognized as reflecting the dental clinic's image because they spend a lot of time with patients. The longer the dental hygienist is employed, the better the relationship with the patients and the medical service provided. The purpose of the present study was to develop a scale to measure factors of long-term employment among dental hygienists. The basic questions were constructed by analyzing tools used to measure job embeddedness and satisfaction. Forty-one questions were developed that measured organizational fit (13), interpersonal relationships (8), job satisfaction (7), duty satisfaction (6), recognition (4), and self-esteem (3). A questionnaire survey was conducted, and the responses from 297 dental hygienists in dental clinics, after the exclusion of 20 incomplete surveys, were used for the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. As revealed by exploratory factor analysis, long-term employment intention was composed of 7 factors consisting of 29 items after the exclusion of 12. The subsequent confirmatory factor analysis revealed 4 factors (“organizational fit,”“professional identity,”“job connectivity,” and “interpersonal relationship”) consisting of 16 items, after the exclusion of 13. Cronbach's α were 0806, 0.836, 0.700, and 0.684 for the four factors. This study is meaningful in that it developed a long-term employment factor measurement tool that can be applied to domestic dental hygienists. Future studies will need to focus more on professional identity and job outcomes. The results of this study and future related ones could be used to improve dental hygienist's continuous service.

A Qualitative Research on Role Conflict Experiences of Clinical Dental Hygienists / 치위생과학회지

This study was based on the experience of dental hygienists' role conflict, and attempted to grasp the nature of the dental hygienist role conflict factor, constituent factor and coping. Giorgi's phenomenological method was used to analyze data collected through in-depth interviews with nine dental hygienists working in a dental clinic. The analysis revealed three central meanings: task scope, role conflicts, and role conflict management style and limitations. In the first category, task scope, the range of the legal scope, and the duties performed by the dental hygienist differed slightly. The second category included role conflict due to interpersonal relationship, work, work environment, competence, and identity as a professional because of role conflict. The third category included the role conflict management style and limitations. Dental hygienists tried to solve the role conflict situation through various efforts. In the face of the reality that the conflict is not solved despite such efforts, the dental hygienists felt the limitation and chose to leave. Dental hygienists are dissatisfied with their roles because of confusion regarding professional values and lack of awareness of the professional workforce due to differences between legal scope and actual practice. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to develop a tool to quantitatively measure the level of role conflict in dental hygienists and to conduct follow-up studies on the effects of coping strategies by role conflict situations.

Effects of Organizational Culture of Dental Office and Professional Identity of Dental Hygienists on Organizational Commitment / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of dental hygienists' perceptions of dental organizational culture and professional identity on organizational commitment. A survey was conducted with 310 dental hygienists working in dental hospitals and dental offices. If dental hygienists experience organizational cultures as having different degrees of organizational commitment, then the type of organizational culture and commitment may be important variables in understanding and reducing the turnover rate of dental hygienists and improving workplace performance. Efforts to form a healthy and positive organizational culture may therefore be necessary. The organizational culture most recognized by the dental hygienist was hierarchical culture (3.39) and the least recognized was task-orientated culture (2.71). The professional identity of the dental hygienist was 3.75 and the organizational commitment was 2.98. Correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between dental organization culture type, professional dental hygienist identity, and organizational commitment. As a result, professional identity and organizational commitment showed positive(+) correlation with innovation oriented culture and relationship oriented culture. Among the organizational culture types, relationship-orientated culture (p<0.001) and innovation-orientated culture (p=0.006) were significant influences on organizational commitment, and professional identity did not have a significant influence. The regression model was found to be statistically appropriate (F=11.857, p<0.001) and the model explaining power was 14.9%. These results suggest that efforts to create a relationship-orientated culture and an innovation-orientated culture and to reduce the hierarchical culture can be a strategy to enhance the organizational commitment and the professional identity of dental hygienists.

In-Depth Interview of Parents Experienced First Infant Oral Examination / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study is to analyze the experience of the parents who examined the first infant oral examination and to understand how to improve the practical oral examination business. In-depth interviews were held with 10 parents who did the first infant oral examination, and their children's age was less than 18 to 29 months. The following conclusions were obtained by deriving the concepts and categories of the recorded contents. First, the main reason for the unsatisfactory examination of this study was that it was formal. Parents were disappointed in the fact that they did not look at the mouth of the child at the same time as it was fast and they said because it is carried out free of charge, it is more formal than the examination for general dental treatment. Second, most of the participants questioned whether they should resume infant oral examination. Third, it appears that the tooth number or dental terminology in the result notice is difficult to understand. Fourth, the opinion on the improvement of the infant oral examinations was should provided that the oral health management information after examination and the direct oral health management method education at the examination. In addition, we identified the need for parents' oral health care education for infants. Therefore, it has been confirmed that in order for the infant oral examination and young children to be practically carried out, the problems should be improved by collecting opinions of the parents. Also it is necessary to search for efficient business management method through repeated research related to infant oral examination.

Validity and Reliability of the Korean Version of the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of a tool used to measure dental anxiety and fear. The Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C+) was translated into Korean, and modified and revised to adapt to Korean culture. A survey was conducted among 457 patients in a dental clinic. The validity and reliability were determined using PASW Statistics ver. 18.0 and IBM SPSS AMOS ver. 21.0. Factor analysis showed that Korean version of IDAF-4C+ was composed of three elements: dental anxiety, dental phobia, feared stimulus. The validity of the model was examined by confirmatory factor analysis and satisfied relevant requirements. All elements had convergent validity and discriminant validity exceeding requirements to ensure validity. Cronbach's α showed good reliability. In conclusion, the findings of this study demonstrate that the Korean version of IDAF-4C+ has high validity and reliability. Furthermore, it can be used in clinical practice and research to decrease dental anxiety and fear.

Development of a Job Competency Model of a Dental Intermediary-Manager Using the Delphi Method / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify job competencies of a dental intermediary-manager and to develop a job competency model. First, job competencies were extracted from literature review. Next, a focus group interview was conducted with a total of 5 people to prepare a draft of job competency model for dental intermediary-manager. Finally, a Delphi survey was conducted with 32 panels. A job competency model for dental intermediary-manager consisted of 6 groups which were dental business management, medical support, human resources management, communication, customer management, leadership, self-control and attitude. Subsequently 25 sub-competencies and 95 behavioral indicators were developed. The job competency model will be able to provide basic data for the development training programs to improve the competency of dental intermediary-managers.

Effect of Professional Oral Healthcare Program on the Oral Status of Elderly Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities / 치위생과학회지

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of professional oral healthcare program in eldery residents long-term care facilities. Ninety-four elderly residents from 5 different facilities in Asan participated in this study. The subjects were divided into 3 groups, with 32 in experimental group I, 30 in experimental group II, and 32 in the control group. Subjects in experimental group I were treated by a dental hygienist with professional oral healthcare and received daily oral care from caregivers who had completed elderly oral healthcare course. Subjects in experimental group II received daily oral care from caregivers who had completed elderly oral healthcare course. Control group received daily oral care from caregivers. These 3 groups were tested for dental plaque, halitosis, tongue coating, and salivary flow at baseline, and after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. There were significant differences in the dental plaque index between the groups, mediate times, and mediate methods, in halitosis between the mediate methods, and in tongue coating between the mediate times, as well as the mediate methods. Finally, salivary flow was significantly different with regard to mediate methods between experimental group II and the control group. Therefore, to improve the oral health condition of elderly residents, involvement of a part-time dentist and scheduled professional oral healthcare are necessary. Furthermore, elderly oral healthcare education for nursing staff, including managers, should be provided.

A Qualitative Research on Conflict Experiences of Clinical Dental Hygienists / 치위생과학회지

This study was aimed at exploring the meaning and essence of the conflict experiences of clinical dental hygienists. In-depth interviews with 13 dental hygienists working in a dental clinic were conducted. Giorgi's method was used for qualitative analysis of the data. Conflict experiences of clinical dental hygienists were categorized into four central meaning as task conflicts, interpersonal conflicts, organizational environment conflicts, and conflict management style. Participants felt more sensitive towards the attitudes of people than treatment itself. Further studies on the multifaceted approach to conflict experiences of dental hygienists should be made. Additional research is necessary to develop effective measures and program to prevent and reduce conflict and stress in the work environment of dental hygienists.

The Structural Relationship among Sense of Coherence, Clinical Practice Stress, and Departmental Satisfaction of Dental Hygiene Students / 치위생과학회지

The purpose of this study was to understand the comprehensive relationship among sense of coherence, clinical practice stress, and major satisfaction of students in the department of dental hygiene. From four local universities, departments of dental hygiene were selected: two departments represented a three-year curriculum system and two represented a four-year curriculum system. Data from the final questionnaires of 319 students were analyzed. Differences between variables were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVAs, and correlations were checked using Pearson's correlation coefficients. Path analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship among clinical practice stress, sense of coherence, and major satisfaction. The results indicated that clinical practice stress had a negative influential relationship with both sense of coherence, and major satisfaction. In addition, sense of coherence had a positive influential relationship with major satisfaction. The direct and indirect effects among factors displayed significant differences, indicating that clinical practice stress has a partial mediation effect on sense of coherence and major satisfaction. Therefore, major satisfaction can be increased by developing and implementing programs to improve sense of coherence.

Diffusion of Knowledge Related to Systemic Disease among Dental Hygienists / 치위생과학회지

This study was aimed to identify the diffusion of systemic disease-related knowledge among dental hygienists. Two hundreds and eleven dental hygienists were selected for the study. Data was collected between August 31, 2015 and September 20, 2015 by handing out questionnaires. Returned questionnaires were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA. Dental hygienists showed overall mean of 0.64 on the systemic disease related knowledge. Age, education level, career, and educational experience showed significant influence on the systemic disease knowledge (p<0.01). Dental hygienists revealed overall mean of 0.61 (full mark=1) on the usefulness recognition of systemic disease related knowledge. Age (p<0.001), education level (p<0.01), career (p<0.001), and educational experience (p<0.01) showed significant effects on the usefulness recognition of systemic disease knowledge. Degree of how dental hygienists apply the systemic disease-related knowledge to the service was mean 0.86 (full mark=2). Age (p<0.01), education level (p<0.01), career (p<0.01), and educational experience (p<0.001) had significant impacts on how dental hygienists apply the systemic disease related knowledge to the service. The diffusion of systemic disease knowledge among dental hygienists was 2.17, which represented ‘persuade’. These results indicated that a study is needed to understand the diffusion of systemic disease knowledge among dental hygienists and to identify obstacles in the process. Moreover, an education program should be developed to offer practical training on the systemic disease-related knowledge. Further studies should evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

A Phenomenological Study on Experiences as a Dental Intermediary Manager / 치위생과학회지

This study aimed at comprehending the duty, role, and difficulty of intermediary manager through in-depth investigation of dental hygienist intermediary managers experienced over 10 years working in a dental clinic. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 dental intermediary managers and Giorgi's analysis method was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that the work experience of the dental hygienist intermediary managers appeared in the range of "becoming an intermediary manager through various processes", "various duties that they experience as an intermediary manager", "difficulty as an intermediary manager", "ability that they perceive as necessary for being a dental intermediary manager", and "worthiness they feel as the intermediary manager". The dental intermediary managers complained of difficulties at work, and appeared to perform various tasks such as human resource management, clinic management support, and patient's management. Accordingly, the researcher considers that research on dental intermediary managers' capacity development necessary.