Take 20 on the Dental Hygiene Scope of Practice Infographic

Presenters

  • Jean Moore DrPH, MSN, FAAN

    Director, Center for Health Workforce Studies, School of Public Health, University at Albany, SUNY

  • Nubia Goodwin, MPH

    Research Support Specialist, Oral Health Workforce Research Center, Center for Health Workforce Studies, School of Public Health, University at Albany, SUNY

Topics

Oral Health, Scope of Practice (SOP)

Description

The Oral Health Workforce Research Center studies dental hygienist (DH) scope of practice and finds great variability in what DHs in different states are allowed to do. Researchers at the Center built a scope of practice scale for DHs, the Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index (DHPPI) and used it to score state-specific DH scope of practice in 2014. Using 2014 DHPPI scores, researchers found that more autonomous DH scope of practice had a positive and statistically significant association with population oral health. Since broader DH scope of practice is correlated with better oral health outcomes, researchers developed an infographic that allows state-to-state comparisons of DH scope of practice. This presentation highlights the research that supported the development of the DH scope of practice infographic.

Duration

20 minutes

Event Date

September 18, 2018