The University of Newcastle's first cohort of Bachelor of Oral Health students: a social profile.
BACKGROUND
This paper reports on the socio-demographic characteristics of the first year cohort of 52 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Oral Health programme at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales.


METHODS
Forty students completed paper-based questionnaires.


RESULTS
Results show that the cohort is predominantly female (94%), the mean age of students was 26.3 years and 72.5% of students had worked as dental chairside assistants prior to enrolment as mature-entry students.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provided a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the socio-demographic profile of first year BOH students with similar research on first year dentistry students at the University of Sydney. Aspects of the study included age, gender, type of school attended, post-secondary qualifications and work experience, ethnicity, parents' level of education and occupation, and career choice motivation.
Oral Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle, New South Wales. Linda.Wallace@newcastle.edu.au
L G
LG
Wallace
D J
DJ
Cockrell
J A
JA
Taylor
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D003756:Dental Hygienists / Q000193:education* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D011313:Preventive Dentistry / Q000193:education*; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult