Job satisfaction among ‘migrant dentists’ in Australia: implications for dentist migration and workforce policy

Career satisfaction amongst dental students and dentists in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional survey

INTRODUCTION

Dental students' satisfaction with their own career can significantly improve the quality of care provided to patients. The aim of the current study was to assess the level of career satisfaction amongst Saudi dental students and dentists.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2019 to January 2020 all over Saudi Arabia. A sample of 750 Saudi dental students and dentists were invited to complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of two sections of closed-ended questions. The first section included personal, professional background factors and level of career satisfaction assessed. The second section included different reasons for choosing dentistry as a career. Multivariable linear regression was used at significance <0.05.

RESULTS

Only 674 responded to the questionnaire. About half of the included respondents were males. Most of the participants were undergraduate students attended Saudi dental schools. 72.3% chose dentistry for helping other people. Graduated dentists had significantly lower satisfaction score than dental students (p = .007). Dentists, who chose dentistry because it is a secured job with good income (p < .001), had significantly lower satisfaction score than those who did not, whilst those who chose it for the social status had significantly higher satisfaction score than those who did not (p = .04).

CONCLUSION

Dental students and dentists were motivated to choose dentistry as it is an opportunity to help others and achieve good salary with appropriate social position in community. Dental students were more satisfied than dentists due to lack of financial responsibilities and absence of educational expenses.

Dental diaspora: oral health care attitudes and experiences in culturally and linguistically diverse mothers in Australia

Background

Globally oral health care is unequally accessible or utilised within culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrant communities. Yet much remains unknown about CALD mothers and their oral healthcare experiences in Australia. Hence, this paper explores the oral health care attitudes and experiences of CALD mothers within the Australian context with the broader objective to reduce oral health inequalities.

Methods

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted from a social constructivism paradigm. Participants were foreign country born, spoke language/s other than English and have a child. Purposive snowball sampling and recruitment was conducted through CALD organisations and social media. Participants were interviewed for their attitudes and experiences to dental care and frequency of utilisation in Australia and the home country. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and grounded analysis (Strauss and Corbin) performed. Researcher bias was reduced through reflexivity and triangulation.

Results

The participants (n = 33) included 20 CALD mothers born in India and 13 from either China, Fiji, Nepal, Macedonia and Israel. The theme, experiences with health workforce personnel revealed positive attitudes toward CALD providers from similar cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds. We coin these CALD providers as the ‘dental diaspora’. The dental diaspora facilitated CALD mothers through culture and/or language factors, alleviating cost barriers and flexibility in appointments. Dental travel to the home country was affirmed, however family visitation was the foremost reason for travel.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the dental diaspora plays a significant role in promoting oral health care utilisation for first generation CALD mothers in Australia. This paper brings to light the phenomenon of the ‘dental diaspora’ as an essential health workforce that contributes to addressing inequities in oral healthcare utilisation within CALD migrant communities. Universal health coverage in oral health is further affirmed, as aligned to the WHO policy context.

Factors influencing job satisfaction among dentists during the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia: A structural equation modeling approach

BACKGROUND

Dentistry is one of the highest risk occupations that face COVID-19, especially in countries that are severely affected by the pandemic, such as Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the study was to determine factors influencing job satisfaction among dentists during the new normal of COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia by utilizing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach.

METHODS

A total of 310 Indonesian dentists voluntary completed an online questionnaire, which contained 58 questions. Several latent variables such as perceived severity of COVID-19, staff cooperation and management commitment, personal protective equipment, job stress, working hours, income, and overall job satisfaction were analyzed simultaneously.

RESULTS

SEM revealed perceived severity of COVID-19 had significant effects on job stress (β:0.394, p = 0.025) and the utilization of personal protective equipment (β:0.757, p = 0.001). Subsequently, job stress (β:-0.286, p = 0.001), working hours (β:0.278, p = 0.018), income (β:0.273, p = 0.003), personal protective equipment (β:0.145, p = 0.038), and staff cooperation & management commitment (β:0.091, p = 0.002) were found to have significant effects on overall job satisfaction. In addition, management & staff cooperation was found to have a significant association with job stress reduction (β:-0.319, p = 0.003) which subsequently led to higher satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study is one of the first that analyzed job satisfaction among dentists in Indonesia during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The integrated latent variables can be applied and extended to evaluate job satisfaction among dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic in other countries. Finally, this study contributed as a theoretical foundation for policymakers to enhance the job satisfaction of dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dentist Job Satisfaction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objectives

Because of the heterogeneous nature of the evidence regarding dentists’ job satisfaction, an overview was necessary to examine dentists’ level of job satisfaction and to determine related work environmental factors.

Materials and methods

A literature search was conducted using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Electronic database searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science were performed until March 1, 2020. Two independent authors collected data and assessed the methodological quality of primary studies using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale.

Results

Nine studies were included from the 1987 initially retrieved. Among the included studies, 5 exhibited a neutral level of satisfaction and originated from China, South Korea, Egypt, and the United States, and 3 studies from Canada, Lithuania, and the United States showed a high level of satisfaction. Only 1 study did not report the mean job satisfaction score. According to bias evaluation, 9 studies were considered low risk.

Conclusion

The findings showed that dentists were satisfied with their jobs at a moderate to high level, and specialists were more satisfied than general dentists. Regarding work environmental factors, the 6 most satisfied factors were patient relationships, respect, delivery of care, staff, professional relationship, and professional environment. Five of the least satisfied factors were personal time, stress, income, practice management, and professional time. However, longitudinal studies would be required to identify changes in these factors. Further studies should be performed in middle- and low-income countries using the Dentist Satisfaction Survey, including stress evaluation.

The Practice of Dentistry by Australian- and Overseas-Trained Dentists in Australia: Discriminant Analysis of key Predictors

INTRODUCTION

Overseas-trained dentists comprise at least one-fourth of the overall Australian dental workforce. This study examined characteristics and practice differences between Australian- and overseas-trained dentists to identify key predictors that best differentiate their dentistry practices.

METHODS

Data for the study were from the Longitudinal Study of Dentist Practice Activity (LSDPA), a survey of a nationally representative random sample of dentists in Australia commencing in 1983-1984 and repeated every 5 years. Dentists were surveyed on a wide range of items including participant characteristics, practice patterns, practice inputs, direct demand, and productivity measures. Data were weighted to provide national estimates by age, sex, and practice type. Discriminant function analysis was used to examine the predictor variables that best distinguished between the two groups. Analysis was limited to the most recent wave of the study.

RESULTS

A total of 1148 dentists (response rate = 67%) responded to the survey in 2009-2010; 648 cases were available for the discriminant analysis. The discriminant functions for the full sample and each of the 3 age groups (<35 years; 35-50 years; and 50+ years) were found effective to separate dentists into 2 groups (Australian and overseas), with the proportion of cases correctly classified being highest for the oldest age group (89.7% for 50+ years). Female gender, type of practice (working in public sector), and working in disadvantaged areas were significant predictors, with more prominence in the 35- to 50-year age group. Practice inputs, demand, and productivity measures offered less discriminative capacity between the dentists.

CONCLUSION

Overseas-trained dentists contribute towards providing dental care to underserved populations, the public sector, and in rural and remote locations. This study provided basis to argue that policies to encourage overseas-trained dentists to contribute towards areas of need locations have been successful, and key productivity measures were also similar to Australian-trained dentists.

An exploratory study of perfectionism, professional factors and psychological well-being of dentistry academics

BACKGROUND

Well-being might be lower among dentistry professionals than other health professionals, and differ by personal, professional and sociodemographic factors. Few studies have considered dentistry academics who have different work roles and functions than clinicians. This exploratory study focused on well-being among dentistry academics and aimed to explore associations with perfectionism, professional factors and sociodemographics.

METHOD

An online survey was carried out with academic staff in Dentistry and Oral Health departments of nine Universities in Australia and New Zealand. Well-being was assessed using the 22-item Psychological General Well-Being Index, with a maximum score of 110 indicating good well-being. Perfectionism was assessed using the 8-item Short Almost Perfect Scale, with a maximum score of 56 and a higher score indicating perfectionism. Twenty items were used to assess professional and 7 items assessed sociodemographic factors. Associations were explored using correlation and multiple linear regression.

RESULTS

There was no significant bivariate association between perfectionism and well-being. Multiple linear regression indicated a significant association between hours of undergraduate teaching and psychological well-being, after adjustment for age, gender, income and overall health.

CONCLUSION

This exploratory study showed poor well-being among dentistry academics, particularly in those teaching undergraduate students for more than 6 h/week.

Satisfaction among early and mid-career dentists in a metropolitan dental hospital in China

A growing body of research has examined career satisfaction among dentists using a standardized instrument, dentist satisfaction survey (DSS). This project examined career satisfaction of early to mid-career dentists in China, a population whose career satisfaction, heretofore, has not been studied. This is an especially critical time to examine career satisfaction because of health care reform measures being implemented in China. A culturally sensitive Chinese-language version of the DSS (CDSS) was developed and electronically administered to 367 early and mid-career dentists in a tertiary dental hospital in Beijing, China. One hundred and seventy respondents completed the survey. The average total career score was 123, with a range of 82–157. Data analysis showed some significant differences in total career score and several subscales based on gender, working hours per week, and years in practice. A stepwise regression model revealed that two variables predicted total career score: working hours per week and gender. Stepwise regression also demonstrated that four subscales significantly predicted the overall professional satisfaction subscale score: respect, delivery of care, income and patient relations. Implications of these results are discussed in light of the health care delivery system and dentist career paths in China.