Work environment of dental hygienists.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to evaluate how musculoskeletal disorders and workplace psychosocial factors affect dental hygienists' work hours and productivity.


METHODS
We mailed a survey to dental hygienists in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California.


RESULTS
Musculoskeletal pain caused 27% of hygienists to decrease work hours and 8.7% to change office locations. Hand/wrist pain caused the most missed workdays. Conversely, conflicts with the dentist caused 28.2% of dental hygienists to change jobs and 12.7% to decrease work hours. Conflicts with staff caused 17.1% to change office locations but only 7.0% to decrease work hours. This pattern was confirmed with multiple logistic regression analyses.


CONCLUSIONS
Musculoskeletal and psychosocial factors affect dental hygienists differently: musculoskeletal discomfort is more likely to cause dental hygienists to decrease their working hours, whereas professional and social conflicts are more likely to lead to change in work location.
Yee
Theodore
T
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California at Los Angeles, 90024, USA.
Crawford
Lori
L
Harber
Philip
P
D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000523:psychology; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires