Work Environment and Occupational Health of Dental Hygienists: A Qualitative Assessment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Crawford L ; Gutierrez G ; Harber P
• Description:
  Objective: We sought to characterize the work environment and identify factors that influence the occupational health of dental hygienists. Methods: We conducted a qualitative analysis of dental hygiene work based on five national focus groups. Results: We found that musculoskeletal symptoms are common, particularly after 10 years; common ergonomic problems included instruments and chairs. Important nonphysical workplace problems include role ambiguity (eg, employee vs. independent practitioner), inadequate recognition, role identity (eg, distinction from dental assistants), role conflict (eg, with dentists and spousal office managers), and social isolation. Conclusions: Work organizational factors (eg, frequent part-time work, inadequate breaks, perception as a "second team" distinct from the dentist and dental-assistant team) impede the remediation of ergonomics and other problems. Job flexibility encourages hygienists to change work hours or location rather than deal with work conditions. Occupational health interventions should address social environment and work organization. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dental Offices Ergonomics Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Dentistry Health Care Workers Hygienists MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Occupational Health Work Environment Work Organization
• 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:20058228
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2005 Jun; 47(6):623-632
• Contact Point Address:
  Lori Crawford, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 10880 Wilshire Boulevard., Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA 90024
• Email:
  loricrawford@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:e5251816ce55aa9bb95a8af56c28cc55dfa0cb7b4669688b2d8baec069bf57c556f8269aca2503e255a12b532f77cb60aac6e30e3f108631019289bcb87f0df5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221360/cdc_221360_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 222.80 KB ]