Validity Evaluation for Identifying Dental Hygiene Activities

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the validity of dental hygiene activities to improve the oral health of clients in the clinical field. Methods: A qualitative content analysis was performed to derive the dental hygiene domain and dental hygiene activities, which were reorganized via the researcher's internal review. Validity, homogeneity, mutual exclusivity, content validity, classification suitability, and clarity were evaluated through an expert Delphi survey. Results: The activities performed by dental hygienists were classified into a total of 15 areas and 156 activities. The homogeneity of the dental hygiene domain was 4.75±0.19, and the mutual exclusivity was 4.64±0.24. Classification of the dental hygiene activities CVI (Content Validity Index) was over 0.65 and CVR (Content Validity Ratio) was over 0.20. Conclusions: It was confirmed that dental hygiene activities contribute to the efficiency and quality of dental treatment, improve dental treatment satisfaction, take full responsibility for patient safety, and affect oral disease prevention, oral health promotion, and successful treatment results based on dental hygiene care. Therefore, in the future, according to the development of dental hygiene science and the dental hygienist system, dental hygiene activities should be continuously revised and supplemented through research, and discussions in the academic world should be carried out.