Factors affecting job satisfaction and their correlation with educational standards among dental assistants

Job Attractiveness and Job Satisfaction of Dental Hygienists: From Japanese Dental Hygienists' Survey 2019

Job attractiveness and job satisfaction are important factors in the continuity of employment among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to assess job satisfaction and job attractiveness among dental hygienists in Japan. The Japan Dental Hygienists Association conducted a survey of the employment status of Japanese dental hygienists in 2019. Questionnaires were distributed to all 16,722 members, and 8932 were returned (Collection rate: 53.4%). Data from 7869 currently working dental hygienists were analysed in this study. We analysed seven items of job attractiveness, 14 items of job satisfaction, and 13 items of request for improving the working environment. Item response theory and structural equation modelling (SEM) were utilized for the analysis. For attractiveness of dental hygienists’ work, respondents placed greater emphasis on the fact that dental hygienists needed national qualifications rather than on income stability. SEM showed that job satisfaction consisted of two factors, ‘Value for work’ and ‘Working environment’, as did job attractiveness, with ‘Contribution’ and ‘Assured income’. Value for work affects the contribution to people, and, employment environment affects assured income. Improving job satisfaction and work environments could help to improve the employment rate of dental hygienists, which could positively influence patient care.

Predictors and Level of Job Satisfaction among the Dental Workforce in National Guard Health Affairs

Objective:

To assess the level of job satisfaction among the dental workforce in the National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA) in Saudi Arabia and to explore any predictors that have impact on the level of satisfaction.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study targeted dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and dental lab technicians who are workers for the NGHA. A cluster random sampling procedure was conducted from seven dental centers. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire that was previously published. Satisfaction questions were related to (a) professional and personal life, (b) income and job security, (c) quality of service, and (d) prestige and self-perception domains. Data analysis included frequency distributions, and a comparison of mean using t-test was conducted using SPSS software.

Results:

The response rate was 55.5%. The mean satisfaction score was 65.7 out of 112 (2.9 out of 5). Of the four domains pertaining to job satisfactions, the highest mean score was obtained for quality of service (4.2 out of 5), followed by prestige and self-perception (2.8 out of 5), professional and personal life (2.8 out of 5), and income and job security (2.6 out of 5). Non-Saudis were found to be significantly more satisfied in professional and personal life; however, Saudi dentists were more satisfied for income and job security and quality of services.

Conclusions:

In general, the dental workforce practicing in NGHA experience a low level of job satisfaction. Professional and personal life, income and job security, and quality of services are all important factors affecting the level of job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction and associated factors among healthcare staff: a cross-sectional study in Guangdong Province, China

OBJECTIVES

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore job satisfaction among healthcare staff in Guangdong following the health system reforms in 2009, and to investigate the association between job satisfaction and work stress, work-family conflict and doctor-patient relationship.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

The Fifth National Health Service Survey was carried out in Guangdong, China.

PARTICIPANTS

All participants in this study were healthcare staff including physicians, nurses and public health staff from hospitals, health service centres and health clinics. A total of 6583 questionnaires were distributed and collected. After excluding the incomplete questionnaires, 5845 questionnaires were included for the analysis.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Sociodemographic information and scores for evaluating job satisfaction, work stress, work-family conflict and doctor-patient relationship were obtained using the questionnaire developed by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China. To assess the significantly associated factors on job satisfaction of the healthcare staff in Guangdong, a binary logistic regression model was used.

RESULTS

Based on the 5845 valid responses of the healthcare staff who worked in Guangdong, the mean score of overall perception of job satisfaction was 3.99 on a scale of 1-6. Among the sociodemographic variables, occupation, educational background, professional status, years of service, annual income and night shift frequency significantly influenced the level of job satisfaction. Work stress, work-family conflict and doctor-patient relationship also had significant effect on job satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall job satisfaction exceeded slightly dissatisfied (score 3) and approached slightly satisfied (score 4). Measures to enhance job satisfaction include the reduction of workload, increase of welfare, maintaining moderate stress and balancing work-family conflict. Moreover, relevant laws should be issued to protect the healthcare staff from violent acts.

Students' motivation to study dentistry in Malaysia: an analysis using confirmatory factor analysis

INTRODUCTION

Malaysia has experienced a significant expansion of dental schools over the past decade. Research into students' motivation may inform recruitment and retention of the future dental workforce. The objectives of this study were to explore students' motivation to study dentistry and whether that motivation varied by students' and school characteristics.

METHODS

All 530 final-year students in 11 dental schools (6 public and 5 private) in Malaysia were invited to participate at the end of 2013. The self-administered questionnaire, developed at King's College London, collected information on students' motivation to study dentistry and demographic background. Responses on students' motivation were collected using five-point ordinal scales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the underlying structure of students' motivation to study dentistry. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare factor scores for overall motivation and sub-domains by students' and school characteristics.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fifty-six final-year students in eight schools (all public and two private) participated in the survey, representing an 83% response rate for these schools and 67% of all final-year students nationally. The majority of participants were 24 years old (47%), female (70%), Malay (56%) and from middle-income families (41%) and public schools (78%). CFA supported a model with five first-order factors (professional job, healthcare and people, academic, careers advising and family and friends) which were linked to a single second-order factor representing overall students' motivation. Academic factors and healthcare and people had the highest standardized factor loadings (0.90 and 0.71, respectively), suggesting they were the main motivation to study dentistry. MANOVA showed that students from private schools had higher scores for healthcare and people than those in public schools whereas Malay students had lower scores for family and friends than those from minority ethnic groups. No differences were found by age, sex, family income and school type.

CONCLUSION

Using CFA, this study shows that academic factors were the main motivation to study dentistry in this group of Malaysian students. There were also variations in students' motivation by students' ethnicity and school sector but not by other factors.