Abstract
Background: In Malaysia, training to enter dental nursing profession is only open to women. Ironically, there are no such gender restrictions on training for any other health related professions in Malaysia. Aim: Therefore this study aims to assess the perceptions of Malaysian Senior Dental Off icers (SDOs) towards the employability of male workers in the dental nursing profession and to compare findings from male and female SDOs. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on all SDOs in Ministry of Health, Malaysia, using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a chi square test were used to address the study objectives. Results: Of the 112 participants, 78 SDOs returned the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 70%. The majority of SDOs had positive perceptions of the employment of male dental nurses. It was indicated that gender is an important indicator for workforce development, and that the employment of both male and female dental nurses would enhance productivity. Almost 70% of SDOs perceived that the productivity of oral health service would be enhanced by having male and female dental nurses but 84.6% disagreed that male dental nurses would be more productive than female. Two thirds of SDOs disagreed that male dental nurses would increase satisfaction among male patients. About 64% of male SDOs disagreed that dental nursing profession is associated with female traits. There was no significant difference between perceptions by male and female SDOs for any statements. Conclusion: The majority of Malaysian SDOs have positive perceptions towards the employability of male dental nurses, and perceived dental nursing as a suitable profession for both genders. Training for the dental nursing profession should therefore be made available for men.
Highlights
There has been a rise in the number of female workers in many sectors, including medicine and dentistry (1-Corresponding author: Dr Nor Azlida Mohd Nor3)
58 Annals of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Vol 19 No 2 2012 qualified with a Masters in Dental Public Health (DPH) and the rest had a dental degree as the highest level of education
Most of the Senior Dental Officers (SDOs) had positive perceptions towards the employability of male workers in dental nursing (Table 1) where almost 65% of them agreed that the ‘introduction of male dental nurses into the health service should be encouraged’
Summary
There has been a rise in the number of female workers in many sectors, including medicine and dentistry (1-Corresponding author: Dr Nor Azlida Mohd Nor3). The dental nursing profession in the public service in Malaysia has been restricted to women [9] This gender restriction is only applicable to dental nursing training. Aim: this study aims to assess the perceptions of Malaysian Senior Dental Officers (SDOs) towards the employability of male workers in the dental nursing profession and to compare findings from male and female SDOs. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on all SDOs in Ministry of Health, Malaysia, using a self-administered questionnaire. About 64% of male SDOs disagreed that dental nursing profession is associated with female traits. Conclusion: The majority of Malaysian SDOs have positive perceptions towards the employability of male dental nurses, and perceived dental nursing as a suitable profession for both genders. Training for the dental nursing profession should be made available for men
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