Work Environment of Dental Hygienists

Details

• Personal Author:
  Crawford L ; Harber P ; Yee T
• Description:
  Objective: We sought to evaluate how musculoskeletal disorders and workplace psychosocial factors affect dental hygienists' work hours and productivity. Methods: We mailed a survey to dental hygienists in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California. Results: Musculoskeletal pain caused 27% of hygienists to decrease work hours and 8.7% to change office locations. Hand/wrist pain caused the most missed workdays. Conversely, conflicts with the dentist caused 28.2% of dental hygienists to change jobs and 12.7% to decrease work hours. Conflicts with staff caused 17.1% to change office locations but only 7.0% to decrease work hours. This pattern was confirmed with multiple logistic regression analyses. Conclusions: Musculoskeletal and psychosocial factors affect dental hygienists differently: musculoskeletal discomfort is more likely to cause dental hygienists to decrease their working hours, whereas professional and social conflicts are more likely to lead to change in work location. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dental Offices Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Dentistry Health Care Workers Hygienists MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Psychosocial Factors Work Environment Work Schedules
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  47
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058224
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2005 Jun; 47(6):633-639
• Contact Point Address:
  Philip Harber, MD, MPH, Division of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, 10880 Wilshire Blvd, Ste #1800, Los Angeles, CA 90024
• Email:
  pharber@mednet.ucla.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20040630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9143f418f400ca9d5b1ff2ccc1eb735f92682198746b5c1077508b35101321790f11da6be77bc777eb052801a7855a4faf8a0e3ad3f7ee4aad369d8b076f79b3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221357/cdc_221357_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 286.31 KB ]