Online Dental Hygiene Degree Completion Program: Outcomes of a longitudinal study.

: Examining the long-term outcomes of education programs delivered online can help assess the impact of the program on graduates and the value of the delivery format. The purpose of this study was to measure the overall outcomes of an online dental hygiene degree completion program and identify key alumni outcomes.: A 35 item electronic survey was delivered via email to all graduates (2009-2017) of an online degree completion program based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, two years following program completion.

Assessment of Michigan Dentists' and Dental Hygienists' Perceptions Toward Obtaining Continuing Education Credits for Volunteering in Community-Based Clinics.

The purpose of this study was to assess dentists' and dental hygienists' current motivation, attitudes, and knowledge regarding volunteering in a non-profit dental setting and the opportunity for earning continuing education (CE) credits. This cross-sectional study surveyed a convenience sample of dental and dental hygiene professionals from the state of Michigan. A 20-question paper survey was developed and pilot tested.

Assessing the Use of Loupes and Lights in Dental Hygiene Educational Programs.

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of loupes and lights in dental hygiene programs, to assess why they are being used, and to evaluate at what point in time they are introduced to students within the curriculum. A 20 question survey was developed and pilot tested. The survey was disseminated electronically to 335 dental hygiene program directors in the United States.

Dental Hygiene Students' Perceptions of Importance and Confidence in Applying Motivational Interviewing During Patient Care.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based, patient-centered counseling approach for eliciting behavior change. In 2012, the University of Michigan (U-M) Dental Hygiene Program significantly enhanced their behavior change curriculum by reinforcing and building upon the Motivational Interviewing segment. The purpose of this study was to examine students' perceptions of the importance of MI and their confidence in applying it during patient care.

Effect of Faculty Development Activities on Dental Hygiene Faculty Perceptions of and Teaching About Motivational Interviewing: A Pilot Study.

The aims of this pilot study were to assess dental hygiene faculty members' perceptions of the importance of motivational interviewing (MI) and their confidence in teaching students about MI and to determine the effect of MI training sessions on those perceptions. Participants were a convenience sample of all 16 dental hygiene faculty members who teach in the clinic at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Participants' perceptions were assessed prior to a workshop in MI (pretest), immediately after the workshop (posttest 1), and eight months after the workshop, at the end of the academic year (posttest 2).

Measuring Curricular Impact on Dental Hygiene Students' Transformative Learning.

Previous research has suggested that transformative learning can be fostered in higher education by creating active learning experiences that are directly related to content taught, are personally engaging, and can stimulate reflection. The aim of this qualitative study was to assess changes experienced by students in an e-learning dental hygiene degree completion program beyond attainment of competence-changes that may be described as transformative learning. The data used were transcripts of focus groups that had been conducted with each of the first five cohorts of students to graduate from the program; a total of 30 of the 42 students in the five cohorts (71%) participated.

Interprofessional Education in U.S. Dental Hygiene Programs: A National Survey.

Although there are many benefits of interprofessional health care, no previous research has sought to define the status of interprofessional education (IPE) in U.S. dental hygiene programs.

The Origins of Minnesota's Mid-Level Dental Practitioner: Alignment of Problem, Political and Policy Streams.

Purpose: Using John Kingdon's agenda-setting model, this paper explores how Minnesota came to legislate a mid-level dental practitioner to its oral health workforce. Using a pluralist framework embracing the existence of various interests and convictions, this analysis highlights the roles of issue formation, agenda setting and politics in policymaking.

Methods: Using Kingdon's agenda-setting model as a theoretical lens, and applying case study methodology, this paper analyzes how Minnesota came to legislate a mid-level dental practitione to its oral health workforce.

Safety Net Care and Midlevel Dental Practitioners: A Case Study of the Portion of Care That Might Be Performed Under Various Setting and Scope-of-Practice Assumptions.

Objectives: We sought to determine the proportion of dental care provided at safety net-type clinics that might be performed by midlevel practitioners.

Methods: Data were obtained on 157,328 procedures performed in 2012 at the clinics associated with a Midwestern dental school. Based on procedure codes, we determined the overall proportion, as well as the proportion of visits and patients' care, that could have been performed by 3 types of practitioners.

The origins of Minnesota's mid-level dental practitioner: alignment of problem, political and policy streams.

Purpose: Using John Kingdon's agenda-setting model, this paper explores how Minnesota came to legislate a mid-level dental practitioner to its oral health workforce. Using a pluralist framework embracing the existence of various interests and convictions, this analysis highlights the roles of issue formation, agenda setting and politics in policymaking.

Methods: Using Kingdon's agenda-setting model as a theoretical lens, and applying case study methodology, this paper analyzes how Minnesota came to legislate a mid-level dental practitione to its oral health workforce.

Assessment of women, infants and children providers' perceptions of oral health counseling and availability of associated resources.

Purpose: Children from low-income families and ethnic minority groups are associated with an increased risk of developing dental disease and are often enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutritional program. It has been an intention of the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) Oral Health Program (OHP) to collaborate with WIC to provide preventive oral health resources and education to their population. This project focused on achieving the goals outlined in the Michigan 2010 State Oral Health Plan.

Recruiting underrepresented minority and low-income high school students into dentistry while educating dental and dental hygiene students about academic careers.

The objectives of this project were to create a program that would expose underrepresented minority (URM) and low income (LI) high school students to dental professions and provide an opportunity for dental and dental hygiene students from URM/LI groups to be engaged in teaching activities. Data were collected from participants during the school years 2009-10 (high school students: N=23, dental students: N=21, dental hygiene students: N=5) and 2010-11 (N=27, N=11, N=3, respectively). The students participated in fifteen Saturday sessions from October through March each year.

ePortfolio: developing a catalyst for critical self-assessment and evaluation of learning outcomes.

There is a growing trend among college accreditation bodies, especially in professional schools, to incorporate self-assessment in the curriculum and deliver evidence of students' learning outcomes. Both as product and process, reflective ePortfolios have the potential to promote learning and transfer of knowledge by fostering the ability to make connections between learning outcomes and leaning experiences. This article describes a model for a program-wide integrated reflective ePortfolio developed by the University of Michigan Dental Hygiene Degree Completion E-Learning (online) Program.

Using multiple methods to assess learning and outcomes in an online degree-granting dental hygiene program.

Program evaluation is a necessary component of curricular change and innovation. It ascertains whether an innovation has met benchmarks and contributes to the body of knowledge about educational methodologies and supports the use of evidence-based practice in teaching. Education researchers argue that rigorous program evaluation should utilize a mixed-method approach, triangulating both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand program effectiveness.

Assessment of the University of Michigan's dental hygiene partnership with the Huron Valley Boys & Girls Club: a study of students' and staffs' perceptions and service learning outcomes.

Purpose: The Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA) requires a health curriculum be taught. With the assistance of the University of Michigan (UM) Dental Hygiene program, these requirements have been addressed at the Huron Valley Boys & Girls Club (HVBGC) through dental hygiene students presenting oral health education to club members throughout the year. This study assessed the outcomes and benefits of the service learning initiative between the UM Dental Hygiene Program and the HVBGC from both the students' and staffs' perceptions.

Using online program development to foster curricular change and innovation.

Distance education offers an opportunity to catalyze sweeping curricular change. Faculty members of the University of Michigan Dental Hygiene Program spent eighteen months researching best practices, planning outcomes and courses, and implementing an e-learning (online) dental hygiene degree completion program. The result is a collaborative and portfolio-integrated program that focuses on the development of reflective practitioners and leaders in the profession.

Online directed journaling in dental hygiene clinical education.

Reflecting upon and sharing of clinical experiences in dental hygiene education is a strategy used to support the application of didactic material to patient care. The promotion of interactive, clinically focused discussions creates opportunities for students to foster critical thinking and socialization skills in dental hygiene practice. Twenty-eight dental hygiene students in their first semester of patient care utilized online directed journaling via blogging software, as a reflection and sharing strategy.

The utilization of Computer Mediated Communication for case study collaboration.

Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) can be used as an effective tool for student communication and collaboration. First-year, first-semester dental hygiene students self-selected groups to develop dental hygiene process of care treatment plans, written reports, and oral case presentations based on assigned clinical cases. In consultation with the University of Michigan (UM) Digital Media Commons Collaborative Technologies Teams, CMC options were identified.