Related Factors of Work Stress, Job Satisfaction and Burnout among Dental Assistants In Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Penghu Areas.

• Main Authors: Chun-Ching Chen, 陳鈞卿
• Other Authors: Shun-Te Huang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/49607122026883365269

碩士 === 高雄醫學大學 === 口腔衛生科學碩士在職專班 === 93 === Abstract Background：There has been significant change in the oral health-care system in Taiwan, including Oral Health Act practice, the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan established a Committee on Dental Medicine, and the set-up of the dental hygiene schools. It’s reveal that the style of oral care is stepping in a form of dental teamwork. Therefore, informational databases of dental auxiliaries are needed to build up the related law and the educational system. In addition, there are no investigative studies that deal with work stress, job satisfaction and burnout among dental assistants. It is necessary to collect and analyze such data related to the work of dental assistants. Study object：The purpose of this study is to investigate the distribution, work content, the extent of work stress, job satisfaction and burnout of assistants, and related factors in order to provide a reference and suggestions. Methods：The survey was performed by mailing questionnaires to dental assistants in Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Penghu areas during Oct. 2003 to Feb. 2004. These dental assistants were contacted by phone prior to getting the survey. Results：From all the subjects of the 890 dental offices, a total of 1778 questionnaires were distributed and 710 were returned. The response rate was 39.93%. There were 1.44 dental assistants in average worked for one dentist. There were fourteen percent dentists in the survey that didn’t hire any assistants, and twenty-four percent only hired one assistant. A large amount of work included items such as：taking impressions, gingival retractions, application over ulcerations, wound dressing, removing sutures, temporary prosthesis fabrication, pit and fissure sealants, re-cementing crowns, applying fluoride, placing or removing rubber dams and orthodontic bands, taking X-rays, removing calculus, removing temporary restorations, and temporary fillings, which were also the duty of dental hygienists in other countries who were certified and trained under the law in their countries. The factors significantly associated with higher work stress by stepwise regression were the higher education, dental league jobs, the unclear and undefined work duties, taken in-service study, work-hours differentiation per week, the unavailability of dental related magazines, the association with part-time dentists, difference in age group, and full-time staff sector differentiation. The factors significantly associated with higher job satisfaction were the shorter period of study, salary differentiation, the on-job education, well defined and clear work duties, and the habit of reading dental related magazines. The factors significantly associated with higher burnout were unclear and undefined work duties, the unavailability of dental related magazines, younger age group, dental league jobs, salary differentiation, and more work-hours per week. The linear regression analysis showed that higher work stress leaded to higher levels of burnout and higher satisfaction leaded to lower levels of burnout. Conclusion：The ratio of dentist to assistant in this study is lower than America, Canada and Japan. Work stress and job satisfaction among dental assistants are slightly above average, and the burnout is slightly below average. This study reveals that the administration of the dental department, including arrangement of working schedules, holidays and working hours, a regulated salary, the conduct of continued education, well defined and clear work duties, the availability of dental related magazines etc. can significantly affect work stress, job satisfaction and burnout of dental assistants. Currently, the duties of dental assistants in Taiwan are similar to the dental hygienists in other countries, but there are no rules or policy to confirm the duties of dental assistants. It’s important for our government and dentists to pay attention and more serious on it.