Canadian dental hygienists' experiences and perceptions of regulatory guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative descriptive analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In Spring of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian provincial dental hygiene regulatory bodies implemented new practice guidelines. Reports of stress, anxiety and conflict experienced by dental hygienists have been linked to miscommunication between oral health regulators at this time. Limited data exists on the perceptions and experiences of dental hygienists navigating new guidelines for dental hygiene care during the pandemic. Therefore, the objective of our study was to explore via descriptive thematic analysis how dental hygienists experienced and perceived: i) dental hygiene practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ii) their regulatory body's COVID-19 guidelines.

Methods

Participants were identified through provincial dental hygiene licensing bodies

SUBMITTER: Macdonald LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9773656 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature