| 1. |
- Bergström, Kamilla, et al.
(författare)
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EXPLORING POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS OF DENTAL WORK IN SWEDEN AND DENMARK
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objectives: Dentistry is an example of human service work, involving cognitively, emotionally and technically demanding tasks. These tasks are potentially implicative of negative as well as positive personal effects. The aim was to study work enjoyment, satisfaction with work, and good working life, comparing Danish and Swedish general dental practitioners. Materials and methods: In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to a randomly selected sample of practicing dentists in Sweden (n=900) and Denmark (n=937). The study was approved by the Swedish regional ethical board. Distribution analysis and Mann-Whitney U test were used for comparison between the groups Swedes/Danes, private-/public practitioners, and dentists with/without management responsibility. Results: Response rate was 68%, whereas 51% were Swedes and 49% Danes. Sixty percent had management responsibility and 40% had not. Further, 58% were private and 37% were public practitioners. Frequency analysis showed that almost three fourths of the dentists experienced a high or a very high degree of (1) work enjoyment (73%), (2) of satisfaction with their work as a whole (72%) and (3) of a good working life (74%). The items (1) and (2) showed differences between all three groups: Danes, private practitioners and dentists with management responsibility scored higher than their counterparts (p≤0.05). Item (3) showed similar results (p≤0.05), except for the comparison Danes/Swedes, which was non-significant. Conclusions: The initial results corroborate that Danish and Swedish dentists have positive perceptions of their work. The differences between the three groups are to be further studied to track potential correlations promoting positive perceptions of work. Funding: The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, Malmö University, The Danish Dental Association.
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| 2. |
- Bergström, Kamilla, et al.
(författare)
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Organizational affiliation and overall job satisfaction among Danish and Swedish dentists
- 2009
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Ingår i: Abstract book.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- 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.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Berthelsen, Hanne, et al.
(författare)
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Decision Authority among Dentists from Denmark and Sweden
- 2009
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Ingår i: Abstract book.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objectives: Karasek and Theorell define job control as the worker's control over work tasks and performance during the working day. This study aims to analyze differences in job control as decision authority over aspects of the work, among general dental practitioners from Denmark and Sweden. Materials and methods: In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to 1835 general dental practitioners, randomly selected from the dental associations in Sweden and Denmark (17% of the eligible population). The response rate was 68% after two reminders. Principal Components Analysis was applied to eight items about influence. Based on the resulting two factors, additive indices were established to measure decision authority: “influence on scheduling appointments” (2 items) and “general influence” (6 items). ANOVA with Tukey's HSD test was used for comparison between groups based on nationality and sector for dentists with/without managerial responsibility. For analyses without equal variances, Kruskal-Wallis test was applied. Results: Influence on scheduling appointments: In both Denmark and Sweden, dentists from the public sector reported lower influence on scheduling appointments than private practitioners (p≤0.01). Comparing dentists from the same sector showed no significant differences between the countries, neither after controlling for managerial responsibility. Dentists with managerial responsibility had higher influence than employed dentists (p≤0.001). Influence in general: For dentists without leadership tasks, similar patterns were seen. In contrast, Swedish dentists with managerial responsibility reported higher general influence than their Danish colleagues (p≤0.01). Independently of gender and nationality, private managers had higher general influence than their public counterpart (p≤0.01). Dentists with managerial responsibility had higher influence than employed dentists (p≤0.001). Conclusion and perspective: Differences in decision authority were found between general dental practitioners working in the public and the private sector in both countries. The results may reflect different management cultures as well as different structural organization of the work. In light of changes in demands made on health care professionals it is important to secure decision authority in order to keep work balance as well as quality in care. The authors wish to acknowledge the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, Malmö University and The Danish Dental Association for financial support.
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