Validity and Reliability of Professional Identity of Dental Hygienists

Kim, Hyeong Mi; Cho, Young Sik

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a measure of professional identity for Korean dental hygienists and to analyze the factors and characteristics of professional identity of these dental hygienists. In this study, 890 dental hygienists completed a self-administered survey. The final analysis was conducted with a total of 880 responses, excluding 10 questionnaires with unreliable responses and partial responses. A systematic literature review was conducted to establish the definition of professional identity, while content validity, exploratory factor, confirmatory factor, and reliability analysis were conducted to establish the constructive factors. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used to identify the level of each factor. Authors conceptualized the professional identity for Korean dental hygienists and item generation, item reduction, and questionnaire formatting. The developed measure of professional identity for dental hygienists consisted of five factors, with 15 items. "Sense of calling,""need for academic capacity building,""performance of delegated authority,""compliance of code of ethics," and "usage of professional organizations" were the constituent factors. Based on these factors, the level of professional identity was the highest in the "performance of delegated authority" and lowest in the "usage of professional organizations." These finding indicated that dental hygienists with higher education levels have higher professional identity levels. The dental hygienists working at the general/university hospital had the highest level of professional identity. Thus, further research is needed to establish a model that consists of factors affecting and influencing the professional identity of dental hygienists.