Ergonomics Calibration Training Utilizing Photography for Dental Hygiene Faculty Members

Abstract

Dental and dental hygiene clinical faculty members often do not provide consistent instruction, especially since most procedures involve clinical judgment. Although instructional variations frequently translate into variations in student performance, the effect of inconsistent instruction is unknown, especially related to ergonomics. The aim of this study was to determine whether photography-assisted calibration training would improve interrater reliability among dental hygiene faculty members in ergonomics evaluation. The photography-assisted ergonomics calibration program incorporated features to improve accessibility and optimize the quality of the training. The study used a two-group repeated measures design with a convenience sample of 11 dental hygiene faculty members (eight full-time and three part-time) during the autumn 2016 term at one U.S. dental school. At weeks one and seven, all participants evaluated imaged postures of five dental students using a modified-dental operator posture assessment instrument. During weeks three and five, training group participants completed calibration training using independent and group review of imaged postures. All pre-training and post-training evaluations were evaluated for interrater reliability. Two-way random effects intraclass coefficient (ICC) values were calculated to measure the effects of the training on interrater reliability. The average measure of ICC of the training group improved from 0.694 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.001 to 0.965 (F(4,8)=3.465, p>0.05) to 0.766 with a 95% CI of 0.098 to 0.972 (F(4,8)=7.913, p<0.01). The average measure of ICC of the control group improved from 0.821 with a 95% CI of 0.480 to 0.978 (F(4,28)=7.702, p<0.01) to 0.846 with a 95% CI of 0.542 to 0.981 (F(4,28)=8.561, p<0.01). These results showed that the photography-assisted calibration training with the opportunity to reconcile different opinions resulted in improved agreement among these faculty members.

Longitudinal effects of utilising photography on the accuracy of ergonomic self‐assessments amongst dental hygiene students

“…The three faculty raters who volunteered for this study were faculty at the Ohio State University and were also enrolled in a companion ergonomic calibration study . Each rater received group didactic instruction from the principal investigator on ideal neutral ergonomic positioning and the recognition of any deviations from neutral positioning.…”

Importance of Teaching Ergonomics in Dental School Education

“…Over time, students engage in clinical activities focusing on providing outstanding treatment to their patients instead of giving appropriate attention to the risk factors present in their work environment [15]. Due to the multifaceted complexities of patient care, dental students tend to overlook the hazards and consequences of poor posture [13].…”

“…However, they have recognized as high priority that training of ergonomics and professional health is necessary [21]. Partido 2017 [13] described the importance of offering ergonomics training programs to faculty in order to provide education and standardize the teaching of ergonomics in dental schools. The photography-assisted ergonomics calibration program used in his study incorporated features to improve accessibility and optimize the quality of the training.…”

“…The photography-assisted ergonomics calibration program used in his study incorporated features to improve accessibility and optimize the quality of the training. The opportunity to reconcile different opinions resulted in improved agreement among the participants [13].…”

“…Dental schools have focused on providing students with extensive clinical experience in all dental specialties but have neglected training these professionals in maintaining their occupational health [3,8,13]. It is extremely necessary to improve the teaching of ergonomics in dental schools and incorporate its principles in the curriculum in order to increase students' knowledge and prevent musculoskeletal disorders [5].…”