Delivery of Health Care by Spanish Dental Hygienists in Private and Public Dental Services during the COVID-19 De-Escalation Phase (June 2020): A Cross-Sectional Study

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain posed a major challenge for Spanish dental professionals. The objective of this work is to describe the dental hygienists' work status and employment patterns during the de-escalation phase in order to analyse the standards of knowledge, complian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-08, Vol.18 (16), p.8298
Main Authors: Expósito-Delgado, Antonio Javier, Ausina-Márquez, Verónica, Mateos-Moreno, María Victoria, Martínez-Sanz, Elena, Del Carmen Trullols-Casas, María, Llamas-Ortuño, María Eulalia, Blanco-González, José María, Almerich-Torres, Teresa, Bravo, Manuel, Martínez-Beneyto, Yolanda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Attitude of Health Personnel
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cross-Sectional Studies
Delivery of Health Care
Dental Care
Dental Hygienists
Dental materials
Dentists
Disease transmission
Epidemics
Humans
Infections
Medical personnel
Pandemics
Patient safety
Patients
Personal protective equipment
Private sector
Professionals
Protective equipment
Public health
Questionnaires
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Social networks
Spain
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teams
Urban areas
Womens health
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Summary:The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain posed a major challenge for Spanish dental professionals. The objective of this work is to describe the dental hygienists' work status and employment patterns during the de-escalation phase in order to analyse the standards of knowledge, compliance with official recommendations, and dental activities both in the public health service and in the private sector. A cross-sectional questionnaire was answered by Spanish dental hygienists via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. The questionnaire was piloted before it was distributed and carried out during June 2020. Here, 517 dental hygienists were surveyed, of which 86.2% followed the official recommendations to avoid contagion and 63.8% agreed with the gradual return to work by limiting the use of aerosols. Private dental hygienists identified more with returning to work without restrictions (14.5%) versus those working for the public service (1.2%) ( < 0.005). Dental hygienists' return to work has involved different strategies, aimed at controlling infection and guaranteeing the safety of patients and the rest of the dental team. The availability of personal protective equipment, the adaptation of clinical infrastructure, and patient care management have differed between professionals working in the private and public sectors.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18168298