Educational needs and employment status of Scottish dental hygienists

Aims and objectives: To investigate the educational needs and employment status of registered dental hygienists in Scotland. Subjects: Three hundred and eighty one registered dental hygienists with postal addresses in Scotland. Design: Structured questionnaire. Results: A 76% response rate was achieved following two mailings. Of the respondents, 43% were in full-time employment albeit in more than one setting, mostly in the 'central belt' of Scotland. It was reported that 41% were employed in general dental practice with both NHS and private lists and 39% worked in a purely private setting. The introduction of extended clinical duties had been well received and 59% of subjects were interested in additional training in dental therapy, should this become available. Absence of funding for CPD was raised repeatedly, with only 41% reporting a degree of financial assistance. Greater accessibility to continuing education via distance learning, particularly in remote and rural settings, was requested by 73% of hygienists. Conclusions: This study identifies a number of issues in relation to this increasingly important group of healthcare professionals, which will inform the providers of oral healthcare. Although hygienists' involvement in CPD was commendable, results indicated that despite commitment to their profession, respondents did not always feel respected in terms of their employment status or support for continuing professional development.