Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey

Background: Deprofessionalization is a process where less-qualified individuals are used to perform work which is done by appropriately qualified individuals. Inequity in the distribution of healthcare services leads to the disparity in dentists in urban and rural areas leading to increased unmet de...

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Main Authors: Princy Annuncia Elias, Nanda Balan Iyenkani, Zoha Abdullah, N. Indira, Arun Kumar Sundaragopal, Rajkumar Chakkarapani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_19_24
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author Princy Annuncia Elias
Nanda Balan Iyenkani
Zoha Abdullah
N. Indira
Arun Kumar Sundaragopal
Rajkumar Chakkarapani
author_facet Princy Annuncia Elias
Nanda Balan Iyenkani
Zoha Abdullah
N. Indira
Arun Kumar Sundaragopal
Rajkumar Chakkarapani
author_sort Princy Annuncia Elias
collection DOAJ
description Background: Deprofessionalization is a process where less-qualified individuals are used to perform work which is done by appropriately qualified individuals. Inequity in the distribution of healthcare services leads to the disparity in dentists in urban and rural areas leading to increased unmet dental needs. To tackle these, community health workers (CHWs) can be trained by the dentists to provide oral health education. This can be achieved by assessing dentists’ knowledge and attitude toward deprofessionalization and their willingness to train CHWs. Methodology: The present survey was conducted among 300 dental health professionals. Online questionnaire link was constructed using the Google survey tool of Gmail comprising 13 questions. For descriptive and frequency statistics, SPSS 27 was used. Results: About 94.1% of the study population thought that it is important for dentists to be posted in government health centers. About 64.4% thought that the provision of basic oral health services by trained CHWs would be beneficial. About 66.3% supported training CHWs in providing basic oral health care. Conclusion: Training CHWs will improve their ability to motivate patients in rural India to utilize oral healthcare services.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2319-5932
2350-0484
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
spelling doaj-art-3a8ffdd646c740aaa68f0bab1f6208f02025-08-20T03:48:46ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry2319-59322350-04842025-01-01231404410.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_19_24Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based SurveyPrincy Annuncia EliasNanda Balan IyenkaniZoha AbdullahN. IndiraArun Kumar SundaragopalRajkumar ChakkarapaniBackground: Deprofessionalization is a process where less-qualified individuals are used to perform work which is done by appropriately qualified individuals. Inequity in the distribution of healthcare services leads to the disparity in dentists in urban and rural areas leading to increased unmet dental needs. To tackle these, community health workers (CHWs) can be trained by the dentists to provide oral health education. This can be achieved by assessing dentists’ knowledge and attitude toward deprofessionalization and their willingness to train CHWs. Methodology: The present survey was conducted among 300 dental health professionals. Online questionnaire link was constructed using the Google survey tool of Gmail comprising 13 questions. For descriptive and frequency statistics, SPSS 27 was used. Results: About 94.1% of the study population thought that it is important for dentists to be posted in government health centers. About 64.4% thought that the provision of basic oral health services by trained CHWs would be beneficial. About 66.3% supported training CHWs in providing basic oral health care. Conclusion: Training CHWs will improve their ability to motivate patients in rural India to utilize oral healthcare services.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_19_24community health workersdeprofessionalizationoral health care
spellingShingle Princy Annuncia Elias
Nanda Balan Iyenkani
Zoha Abdullah
N. Indira
Arun Kumar Sundaragopal
Rajkumar Chakkarapani
Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey
Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
community health workers
deprofessionalization
oral health care
title Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey
title_full Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey
title_fullStr Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey
title_short Knowledge and Attitude toward Deprofessionalization among Dental Health Professionals – A Questionnaire-based Survey
title_sort knowledge and attitude toward deprofessionalization among dental health professionals a questionnaire based survey
topic community health workers
deprofessionalization
oral health care
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_19_24
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AT nindira knowledgeandattitudetowarddeprofessionalizationamongdentalhealthprofessionalsaquestionnairebasedsurvey
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