Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

2024

Publication Title

Journal of Dental Hygiene

Volume

98

Issue

6

Pages

59-60

Abstract

Purpose: There has been an increase in the number of persons identifying as LGBTQ+ in the United States. LQBTQ+ individuals are also subject to social stigmas and discrimination which create barriers to obtaining quality healthcare. Providers may harbor implicit or unconscious biases which may negatively affect their ability to provide impartial health or oral healthcare. An awareness of biases early in education may promote equitable care and increase quality of oral healthcare delivered to diverse populations. The purpose of this study was to determine prevalence of sexually implicit attitudes in entry-level dental hygiene students in one university.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of junior and senior dental hygiene students (n=74) and was determined exempt by the Old Dominion University Institutional Review Board (2151633-2). The Implicit Associations Test (IAT) is a validated tool used to measure implicit bias. For this pilot study, the validated Sexuality IAT was modified for use in dentistry. The IAT requires participants to rapidly pair two social groups, in this case, homosexual and heterosexual individuals, with either positive or negative attributes. Faster average pairings would indicate a preference for a group. Descriptive statistics will be used to evaluate the means between groups and determine the prevalence of sexually implicit biases. Independent samples t-tests will be utilized to examine for statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in year in program (1st or 2nd).

Results: The researchers hypothesize overall moderate implicit biases towards homosexual individuals.

Conclusion: More research on awareness and interventions to mitigate biases towards LGBTQ+ individuals is needed.

Rights

Copyright © 2024 American Dental Hygienists’ Association. All rights reserved.

Included with the kind written permission of the copyright holders.

Comments

From the article "2024 Dentsply Sirona/ADHA Graduate Student Research Abstracts."

Original Publication Citation

Drew, M., Ludwig, E., Suedbeck, J., & Howell, A. (2024). Prevalence of sexually implicit attitudes in entry-level dental hygiene students. Journal of Dental Hygiene, 98(6), 59-60. https://jdh.adha.org/content/98/6/58

ORCID

0000-0002-3275-059X (Ludwig), 0000-0001-7681-8042 (Suedbeck)

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