Profiling alumni of a Brazilian public dental school.

BACKGROUND: Follow-up studies of former students are an efficient way to organize the entire process of professional training and curriculum evaluation. The aim of this study was to identify professional profile subgroups based on job-related variables in a sample of former students of a Brazilian public dental school. METHODS: A web-based password-protected questionnaire was sent to 633 registered dentists who graduated from the Federal University of Goias between 1988 and 2007. Job-related information was retrieved from 14 closed questions, on subjects such as gender, occupational routine, training, profits, income status, and self-perception of professional career, generating an automatic database for analysis. The two-step cluster method was used for dividing dentists into groups on the basis of minimal within-group and maximal between-group variation, using job-related variables to represent attributes upon which the clustering was based. RESULTS: There were 322 respondents (50.9%), predominantly female (64.9%) and the mean age was 34 years (SD = 6.0). The automatic selection of an optimal number of clusters included 289 cases (89.8%) in 3 natural clusters. Clusters 1, 2 and 3 included 52.2%, 30.8% and 17.0% of the sample respectively. Interpretation of within-group rank of variable importance for cluster segmentation resulted in the following characterization of clusters: Cluster 1 - specialist dentists with higher profits and positive views of the profession; Cluster 2 - general dental practitioners in small cities; Cluster 3 - underpaid and less motivated dentists with negative views of the profession. Male dentists were predominant in cluster 1 and females in cluster 3. One-way Anova showed that age and time since graduation were significantly lower in Cluster 2 (P < 0.001). Alternative solutions with 4 and 5 clusters revealed specific discrimination of Cluster 1 by gender and dental education professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Cluster analysis was a valuable method for identifying natural grouping with relatively homogeneous cases, providing potentially meaningful information for professional orientation in dentistry in a variety of professional situations and environments.

Gênero e escolha por especialidades odontológicas: estudo com egressos de uma universidade pública / Gender and choice for dental specialties: study of a public university students

A tendência à especialização e o incremento feminino na graduação é uma realidade, porém, existem na literatura científica poucos trabalhos que relacionam a escolha pela especialização e o gênero, e até o presente momento não se verifcou referências à região Centro-Oeste. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a escolha por especialidades odontológicas dos egressos da Universidade Federal de Goiás, segundo o gênero, em um período de 20 anos. A população de estudo foi os 1188 egressos do período de 1988 a 2007. Os dados secundários foram coletados no Departamento de Assuntos Acadêmicos da Universidade Federal de Goiás e no Conselho Federal de Odontologia. Foram realizadas análise descritiva e teste qui-quadrado. Verifcou-se que 436 (36,7%) dos profissionais tinham pelo menos uma especialidade e 46 (3,9%) tinham duas especialidades registradas no Conselho Federal de Odontologia. A proporção de especialistas foi maior entre homens (41,0%) que entre as mulheres (33,9%) (p=0.013). As especialidades preferidas entre os profissionais foram ortodontia (18,3%), prótese (17,8%), endodontia (15,4%), periodontia (13,9%) e odontopediatria (12,7%). Destas a única que teve diferença signifcativa entre os gêneros foi a odontopediatria. Dentre as outras especialidades houve diferença entre os gêneros na cirurgia buco-maxilo-facial e na implantodontia. O gênero infuenciou na escolha de algumas especialidades e apesar de haver mais mulheres especialistas, proporcionalmente os homens optaram mais por fazerem uma especialidade.

Trends toward specialization and feminilization in Dentistry are a reality in Brazil, but few studies explore the association between specialization and gender and there is no information about this phenomenon in the Brazilian Midwest. The aim of this study was to analyze the Federal University of Goias graduates choice of dental specialties according to gender, in a period of 20 years. The study sample was 1188 graduates of the period from 1988 to 2007. Secondary data were collected at the Department of Academic Afairs of the Federal University of Goias and the Federal Board of Dentistry. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test were used for data analysis. There was 436 (36.7%) with at least one speciality and 46 (3.9%) with two specialities registered in the Federal Council Dentistry. The proportion of specialists was greater for men (41.0%) that women (33.9%) (p=0.013). The most prevalent specialties were orthodontics (18.3%), prosthodontics (17.8%), endodontics (15.4%), periodontics (13.9%) and restorative dentistry (12.7%). There were signifcant diference for pediatric dentistry (greater for women), and maxillofacial surgery and implantology (greater for men). It was concluded that gender was associated with the choice for some specialities.

[Determinants of linear growth retardation in Brazilian preschool children: a multilevel approach]. / Preditores do retardo de crescimento linear em pré-escolares: uma abordagem multinível.

This study focuses on the determinants of linear growth deficit in under-five children using multilevel modeling. The sample included 3,746 preschoolers from 15 Brazilian municipalities (ten from the State of Bahia and five from São Paulo), with a three-tier analysis (municipalities, households, and children). Municipal data were obtained from the 1991 National Census. Individual and household data were collected from 1999 to 2001 using structured questionnaires and measuring children's weight and height. Analysis used the MLwiN software. In the final multilevel model, low HDI and prenatal care at the municipal level, poor environmental and economic conditions and maternal schooling at the household level, and low birth weight, incomplete immunization, prior history of malnutrition, and no report of breastfeeding at the individual level were strongly associated with linear growth deficit. Total variability of deficit explained by the model was 27.4%, of which 51.3%, 33%, and 15.7% were explained, respectively, by individual, household, and municipal variables.

Preditores do retardo de crescimento linear em pré-escolares: uma abordagem multinível / Determinants of linear growth retardation in Brazilian preschool children: a multilevel approach

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar os determinantes do déficit de crescimento linear em crianças menores de cinco anos, utilizando modelagem multinível. Foi estudada uma amostra de 3.746 pré-escolares de 15 municípios brasileiros (dez do Estado da Bahia e cinco do Estado de São Paulo), construída em três estágios (municípios, domicílios e crianças). Os dados municipais foram obtidos do censo demográfico de 1991. Os dados referentes aos indivíduos e domicílios foram coletados entre 1999 e 2001, constando de questionários estruturados e medições de peso e altura das crianças. Para análise utilizou-se o programa MLwiN. No modelo multinível final observou-se que baixo IDH e inadequada assistência pré-natal, no nível dos municípios; baixas condições ambientais, econômicas e da escolaridade materna, no nível dos domicílios; o baixo peso ao nascer, esquema vacinal incompleto, história prévia de desnutrição e ausência do aleitamento ao peito, no nível das crianças, mostraram-se fortemente associados ao déficit do crescimento linear das crianças estudadas. A variabilidade total da desnutrição explicada pelo modelo foi de 27,4 por cento, desta, 51,3 por cento, 33 por cento e 15,7 por cento foram explicadas, respectivamente, pelas variáveis dos níveis da criança, do domicílio e do município.

This study focuses on the determinants of linear growth deficit in under-five children using multilevel modeling. The sample included 3,746 preschoolers from 15 Brazilian municipalities (ten from the State of Bahia and five from São Paulo), with a three-tier analysis (municipalities, households, and children). Municipal data were obtained from the 1991 National Census. Individual and household data were collected from 1999 to 2001 using structured questionnaires and measuring children's weight and height. Analysis used the MLwiN software. In the final multilevel model, low HDI and prenatal care at the municipal level, poor environmental and economic conditions and maternal schooling at the household level, and low birth weight, incomplete immunization, prior history of malnutrition, and no report of breastfeeding at the individual level were strongly associated with linear growth deficit. Total variability of deficit explained by the model was 27.4 percent, of which 51.3 percent, 33 percent, and 15.7 percent were explained, respectively, by individual, household, and municipal variables.