title: Initiating tobacco curricula in dental hygiene education: a descriptive report.
abstract: Two hours of tobacco instructions were incorporated into the baccalaureate dental hygiene curricula in a university in the Northwestern United States. Prior to graduation, all senior students were invited to complete anonymously a questionnaire surveying attitudes and clinical skills in providing tobacco services to their clinic patients. Twenty students (67%) responded but no data was collected on the non-respondents. Eighteen (90%) reported practicing some of the "5 A's," and a few reported sustained adherence to all "5 A's." Moderately successful clinical outcomes parallelled students' moderate self-rating of their knowledge/skills. When asked to identify barriers to sustained and ongoing full adherence, most students cited "patient resistance/disinterest," and their own "lack of knowledge or confidence in the skills." Our preliminary findings suggest that additional content and training time may be required for dental hygiene graduates to feel highly confident and knowledgeable, and for them to sustain comprehensive tobacco services once in practice.
authors.affiliation: Idaho State University, Division of Graduate Studies, Department of Dental Hygiene, 12301 W Explorer Drive, Suite 102, Boise, ID 83713, USA. boydlind@isu.edu
authors.forename: Linda D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fun
authors.forename: Theresa E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Madden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003479:Curriculum; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires