Govender U, Bhayat A, Rudolph M
Griffith University, School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Southport, Gold Coast, Australia.
SADJ. 2013 May;68(4):156, 158-60.
Oral hygienists (OHs) drive oral disease preventive programmes and promote good health practices. South Africa (SA) has a shortage of this cadre of health worker especially in the public sector. This 2009 project was the first effort to determine the professional activities performed, barriers faced and work- related issues that affected OHs employed at that time in Gauteng and in KwaZulu-Natal. The cross-sectional descriptive study used a self-administered questionnaire developed after a comprehensive literature review. The response rate was 78% (N = 32). Almost all (94%) respondents gave "providing a service to the community" as the main reason for working in the public sector, where they were committed to offering preventative oral and dental services at clinics and in the community. Common employment problems were poor salaries (94%), lack of resources (81%) and the perception that opportunities for promotion are limited (78%), compounded by poor recognition of the services provided by OHs. In order to more effectively utilise the skills and commitment of OHs in delivering preventive dentistry in the public sector, such problems facing the profession should be addressed.
口腔保健员推动口腔疾病预防项目并推广良好的健康习惯。南非（SA）缺乏这类卫生工作者，尤其是在公共部门。这个2009年的项目是首次尝试确定当时在豪登省和夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔省受雇的口腔保健员所开展的专业活动、面临的障碍以及与工作相关的问题。这项横断面描述性研究使用了在全面文献综述后编制的自填式问卷。回复率为78%（N = 32）。几乎所有（94%）的受访者将“为社区提供服务”作为在公共部门工作的主要原因，他们致力于在诊所和社区提供预防性口腔和牙科服务。常见的就业问题包括薪资低（94%）、资源短缺（81%）以及认为晋升机会有限（78%），此外，口腔保健员所提供服务的认可度也很低。为了更有效地利用口腔保健员的技能和奉献精神在公共部门提供预防性牙科服务，该职业面临的此类问题应得到解决。
