Organizational affiliation and overall job satisfaction among Danish and Swedish dentists

• Objectives: Good work in dentistry concerns the manual skills as well as the patient relation. The ability to provide quality care in dentistry is not only dependent on individual resources but also on work organization, which can affect the job satisfaction. This study aims to describe dentists in different organizational settings in Sweden and Denmark and the relation to their overall job satisfaction. Materials and methods: In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to a random proportionally stratified sample of practicing dentists in Sweden (n=898) and Denmark (n=937). The study was approved by the Swedish regional ethical board. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used on three items aiming to measure overall job satisfaction; (1) work fulfillment, (2) satisfaction with the work as a whole, and (3) the perception of having a good working life. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the overall job satisfaction between Swedish and Danish private and public practitioners. Results: The response rate was 68%, whereas 51% were Swedes and 49% Danes, 62% were women and 32% men. Further, 61% were private and 39% were public practitioners. PCA on the three items showed a one factor solution with 78% variance explained. The PCA was stable when splitting the sample as to gender and organizational affiliation. An index for overall job satisfaction was established, having a Cronbach’s alpha 0.86. The overall job satisfaction means (range 3-15) for the four subgroups were; Swedish public (11.0) and private (11.8) practitioners and Danish public (11.9) and private (11.8) practitioners. Statistically significant differences were found between the groups (P< 0.001). Conclusions: The average response rate was reasonably satisfactory. The PCA showed an index of overall job satisfaction as a measure of eudaimonic work life elements as well as more practical contentment with work. The initial results showed that Danish and Swedish dentists have a high overall job satisfaction. The Swedish public practitioners had the lowest overall job satisfaction compared to the other groups. The results are to be further analyzed as to more specific organizational differences. Funding: The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, Malmö University, The Danish Dental Association.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Odontologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Dentistry (hsv//eng)

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