Attitudes of Oral Hygiene Students Regarding Introduction of Community Service

The South African Department of Health intends to address the shortage and maldistribution of health professionals within the public sector by introducing compulsory community service (CSS) which is pending for oral hygienists (OHs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of OH students regarding the proposed introduction of CCS. Objectives: To determine (a) the demographic profile; (b) their attitudes regarding CCS. Methods: The study population included all students registered for the OH program in South Africa (SA). The survey instrument consisted of a self-administered 19 item questionnaire requiring both open and closed ended responses. This, together with an information sheet with instructions, was mailed out to oral hygiene managers at five dental schools during 2004. Results: There was a response rate of 70% (109). The average age of the students was 21.4 yrs (range 18-37, STD dev 3.4) Most students were female (94%) and White (52%) whilst Blacks comprised 24%, Coloureds 16% and Asians 7%. More than half (53%) of the students did not want to perform CCS even though 75% acknowledged its' importance. Further analysis indicates that almost 83% of the white students were against CSS compared to only 19% of the non-white students. The most common concern given for not supporting CSS was security (100%). The majority of respondents (75%) felt that they were adequately trained to carry out CCS and almost two thirds of the students (65%) preferred to carry it out in an urban setting within the more developed provinces of SA. Although most students (90%) indicated that they would prefer to engage in clinical work, health promotion and school education programmes, 10% wanted to get involved in management activities. Conclusions: Although most students accepted the importance of CCS, there was a clear racial bias in terms of actual preference for this activity.