Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Eileen E. Morrison
Committee Member
James A. Pietrovito
Committee Member
Richard C. Conrath
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Claudia Santin
Keywords
Academy of General Dentistry, adult education, compliance implementation, continuing education, course curriculum, dental assistants, dental care providers, dental hygienists, dental instrument injuries, dental laboratory technicians, dental workplace safety, dentistry, educational program development, employee safety, ergonomic illnesses, federal health and safety laws, health education, injury prevention, latex allergy, Maine, needs assessment, occupational health, on-site training, OSHA, OSHA compliance, participant group tasks, pilot testing, self-inspection tools, state health and safety laws, Turbyne & Associates Board of Trustees, voluntary compliance, workplace accidents, workplace illnesses, workers' compensation
Abstract
This applied dissertation was to design, develop, pilot test, and evaluate an educational process and product that would assist dental care providers in the state of Maine to effectively comply with federal and state health and safety laws. Dental care providers faced many types of workplace injuries in the form ofneedlesticks, dental instrument injuries, ergonomic illnesses, and latex allergy/asthma. Changing federal and state laws, lack of knowledge, interest, and/or inability to self-manage compliance implementation of OSHA and state of Maine laws increased the risk of employee workplace accidents, illnesses, and OSHA inspection. Other potential risks of non-compliance included employee disability, increased workers' compensation costs, dentistry being viewed as a high risk profession by insurance carriers, viewed as unsafe by the public seeking care, and increasing the cost of care. The limited availability and accessibility to customized, credit approved on-site courses for dental OSHA and Maine voluntary compliance was also apparent.
The writer with the assistance of a literature review, formative and summative committee review, and a needs assessment, developed, pilot tested, and evaluated a six hour on-site OSHA/State of Maine compliance course. The development included, the course criteria, the course curriculum, an implementation and evaluation plan based on an objectives oriented evaluation model. The on-site pilot tested curriculum was an adult centered combination of lecture and participant group task application, which resulted in a completed, self-managed, OSHA state of Maine compliance program for the dental work-site. Participants were provided with the knowledge, experience, and self inspection tools to implement and maintain expected OSHA/Maine compliance in the dental workplace, with the goal of a safe and injury/illness free workplace.
The major conclusions of this report were that a certified educational program to insure dental provider compliance with federal and state health and safety law was validated using the development, research, and evaluation methodology. As a result of the successful development and evaluation of this course, this program was approved by the Academy of General Dentistry and the Turbyne & Associates Board of Trustees. This course will be offered to all dental care providers in the state of Maine in the Spring of2003 as an on-site course, which will award six continuing education Category I credits toward Maine licensure for dentists, dental hygienists, certified dental assistants and dental laboratory technicians.