Degree Name

MSAH (Master of Science in Allied Health)

Program

Allied Health

Date of Award

8-2021

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Deborah Dotson

Committee Members

Randy Byington, Ester Verhovsek-Hughes

Abstract

Although tobacco cessation is an uphill battle for almost everyone who attempts to quit, it is important that dental hygienists do not assume that patients are not interested. Dental hygienists are in an ideal position to offer cessation help to their tobacco using patients. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the tobacco cessation practices among central Texas dental hygienists. Specifically, dental hygienists were asked about beliefs, motivation, and confidence with regard to their tobacco cessation practice. A positive significant, moderate, relationship was found between beliefs and confidence (r=0.647), beliefs and practices (r=0.704), knowledge and capability (r=0.579), motivation and capability (r=0.529), motivation and practice (r=0.605), and years of practice and capability (r=0.699). The mean confidence scores for hygienists with more than 20 years of experience differed from those with 1-5 years of experience (p=.003) and 6-10 years of experience (p=.025).

Document Type

Thesis - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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