Biomaterial Database

Utilization of dental auxiliaries in private dental surgeries in Kenya. 1994

J T Kaimenyi, and S W Guthua, and J Wakiaga, and B Kisumbi

Department of Dental Surgery College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

This study was done to determine the nature of utilization of dental auxiliaries and medical emergencies in private dental surgeries in Kenya. A self administering questionnaire with pre-paid postage was mailed to 138 dentists. 27.5% responded. 81.6% used dental auxiliaries and the main reason was to improve efficiency in managing patients. 93.5% of the auxiliaries were on job trained secondary school graduates. 63.2% of the respondents delegated duties which were mainly non-clinical. 26.3% did not delegate any duties. In a descending order, the reasons for non delegation were: that it would be risky to patients, not allowed by law, they did not find it necessary and that auxiliaries were not held responsible if something went wrong. The main duties delegated to the auxiliaries were cleaning of instruments and sterilization, mixing of restorative materials and preparing amalgam. Delegation was done primarily based on auxiliaries capability to perform the procedure and meet the set standards. 57.9% indicated that they rarely encountered medical emergencies. Syncope was the commonest emergency encountered. 72.7% indicated that auxiliaries could not handle medical emergencies because they were not trained. It is concluded that most dentists did not delegate clinical duties to dental auxiliaries and medical emergencies were rare.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007587	Job Description	Statement of the position requirements, qualifications for the position, wage range, and any special conditions expected of the employee.	Position Description,Description, Job,Description, Position,Descriptions, Job,Descriptions, Position,Job Descriptions,Position Descriptions
D007630	Kenya	A republic in eastern Africa, south of ETHIOPIA, west of SOMALIA with TANZANIA to its south, and coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Nairobi.	Republic of Kenya
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D010818	Practice Patterns, Physicians'	Patterns of practice related to diagnosis and treatment as especially influenced by cost of the service requested and provided.	Clinical Practice Patterns,Physician's Practice Patterns,Clinical Practice Pattern,Pattern, Clinical Practice,Patterns, Clinical Practice,Practice Pattern, Clinical,Practice Patterns, Clinical,Practice Patterns, Physician's,Prescribing Patterns, Physician,Physician Practice Patterns,Physician Prescribing Pattern,Physician Prescribing Patterns,Physician's Practice Pattern,Physicians' Practice Pattern,Physicians' Practice Patterns,Practice Pattern, Physician's,Practice Pattern, Physicians',Practice Patterns, Physician,Prescribing Pattern, Physician
D011331	Private Practice	Practice of a health profession by an individual, offering services on a person-to-person basis, as opposed to group or partnership practice.	Solo Practice,Practice, Private,Practice, Solo,Practices, Private,Practices, Solo,Private Practices,Solo Practices
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D003727	Dental Auxiliaries	Personnel whose work is prescribed and supervised by the dentist and who provide dental related care.	Auxiliaries, Dental,Auxiliary, Dental,Dental Auxiliary
D004630	Emergencies	Situations or conditions requiring immediate intervention to avoid serious adverse results.	Emergency
D005260	Female		Females