title: Factors influencing the selection of dental hygiene as a profession.
abstract: Since the mid-1970s, the dental hygiene profession has experienced a decline in the number of applicants. Reasons cited for this decline are fewer traditional college-age students, an increase in the career opportunities available to women, and a decrease in student financial aid. Four-year dental hygiene programs have experienced applicant decline faster than two-year programs. The purpose of this study was to determine factors that influenced university freshmen to designate dental hygiene as a career choice. Factors examined included reasons for choosing or not choosing a career in dental hygiene, and retention in the college major chosen. A questionnaire was mailed to three groups of students who entered the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as freshmen from 1985 through 1987: (1) all students who designated dental hygiene as a major on their entrance application; (2) a random sample who did not; and (3) all the freshman during that time period who subsequently matriculated into the dental hygiene program. The overall response rate was 78% (n = 80). Subjects began to explore career opportunities at a mean age of 16. Having a family member/friend in the selected field was found to be the most influential factor in career selection. Among dental hygiene students, contact with a dental hygienist was perceived to be influential in their career choice. Entering college freshmen exhibited a lack of knowledge about the dental hygiene profession, and most had not received any information about dental hygiene in high school. These findings can be used to develop recruitment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Ecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wassel
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mauriello
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Weintraub
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D013336:Students, Health Occupations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires