Recorded presentation

Charla J. Lautar, PhD, Health Care Professions, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, M/C 6615, Carbondale, IL 62901, 618-453-7211, cjlautar@siu.edu, Elaine Jurkowski, PhD, School of Social Work, Southern Illinois University, Quigley 4, M/C 4329, Carbondale, IL 62901, and Tsukasa Okino, MSW, Rehabiliation Institute, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, M/C 4329, Carbondale, IL 62901.

The Surgeon’s General’s “Call to Action” (2003) and Healthy People 2010 recommend collaboration between professionals. Workforce preparation requires an integration of disciplines and preparation within the curriculum and continuing education to adequately prepare these professionals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the perceptions of oral health issues between dental hygiene and social work students. METHODS: A survey was developed which addressed perceptions of respondents in areas related to access to care, service planning and referral options with dental hygiene and social work students. RESULTS: ANOVA testing suggests that there were no differences in perceptions among sophomore, junior and senior dental hygiene students however t-test differences between means suggest that there were differences between dental hygiene and social work students’ perceptions on a variety of items. Dental hygiene students had higher mean scores on items which related to oral health and screening, but lower mean scores on items related to information, referral sources and homebound, aged or disabled clients. There were no differences between the groups on items related to behavioral health, general health and mental health related items. The thematic analysis of the open ended questions revealed that there is a limited understanding of the breadth responsibilities encompassed for both social workers and dental hygienists. CONCLUSION: These groups need to understand each other roles and relevance of each discipline’s contribution in one’s overall health. These finding suggest that the need to develop strategies for multidisciplinary collaboration is critical in the academic preparation process.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will understand

• the need for collaborative roles between dental hygienists and case managers.
• the differences in perceptions between professional groups such as social work and dental hygiene.
• some recommended changes in the educational process for adequate preparation of the workforce for collaboration.

Keywords: Workforce, Oral Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation