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Representation of Diversity on Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Program Websites

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2017, Master of Dental Hygiene, Ohio State University, Dental Hygiene.
Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate current entry-level dental hygiene program websites across the United States and evaluate how ethnic and racial diversity is portrayed. The aim of this paper is to examine the images and videos used on websites of current entry-level dental hygiene programs and describe the frequency that minorities are represented and the role in which they are characterized. Methods: A content analysis was used to evaluate a random sample of entry-level dental hygiene program webpages from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) list. The 37 entry-level dental hygiene webpages were assessed for diversity. The representation of diversity was evaluated by examining images and videos found on the webpages and then categorizing the findings by demographics and the roles in which the individuals appearing in pictures or videos were portrayed. Results: Thirty-seven of the 50 randomly selected entry-level programs met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 32 were associate degree programs and 5 were baccalaureate degree programs. A total of 690 images on the websites of these 37 programs were analyzed. The overall findings reflected Whites being predominately represented in 78.8% of the images followed by Asian (5.2%), Black or African American (4.3%), while American Indian Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander were least represented at 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Race was undetermined in 8.4% of the sample. The Chi-square test of independence showed that there was a statistically significant difference (p=0.004) between associate and baccalaureate degree programs. Associate programs had less representation of underrepresented minorities images on entry-level dental hygiene webpages. Conclusion: The study evaluated the representation of racial and ethnic diversity on entry-level dental hygiene program webpages. The findings revealed that the entry-level dental hygiene program websites predominately reflected White female as the majority in the images and videos on the webpages. This data is reflective of the profession and the student population; White females out number underrepresented minorities. The lack of underrepresented minorities in the field coincides with the images reflected on the entry-level dental hygiene websites. The study demonstrated the need for the dental hygiene field to improve the representation on their websites to better align with a need to diversify the dental hygiene profession.
Rachel Kearney, C (Advisor)
Canise Bean, Y (Committee Member)
Brian Partido, B (Committee Member)
34 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stepter, K. M. (2017). Representation of Diversity on Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Program Websites [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1512123129198428

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stepter, Karmeil. Representation of Diversity on Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Program Websites . 2017. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1512123129198428.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stepter, Karmeil. "Representation of Diversity on Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Program Websites ." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1512123129198428

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)