WORK ENGAGEMENT OF DENTISTS AND DENTAL ASSISTANTS IN PRIMARY HEALTHCARE CORPORATION IN QATAR

Abstract

Background: Work engagement is a positive, signicant, work-related mental state that involves enthusiasm, dedication, and attention, and it has been shown to have a direct impact on care quality. Employees who are more involved in their work, usually experience less job stress and anxiety than those who are not; increased levels of work engagement can improve dental team performance, job satisfaction, emotional wellness, and minimize the likelihood of turnover. to evaluate work engagement of PHCC dentists and dental assista Objective: nts in Qatar. Method: An electronic questionnaire was emailed to the whole population of PHCC (217) dentists and (192) dental assistants distributed over 27 health centers and obtained from Dentistry Department data base after securing approval. Study design: quantitative, correlational, and cross - sectional study using instruments reecting sociodemographic variables and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) that consists of three constructs: vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli et al (2002)). Results: 187 out of 409 dentists and dental assistant replied to the survey with response rate of 46%. 66.8% of respondents were males, 79.1% were married, 68.4% of participants were below 45 years, 51.9% had less than 5 years of work experience with PHCC. 80.2 % had general satisfaction with the profession, and 43.9% had thoughts of leaving the profession. Conclusion: PHCC general dentists and dental assistants demonstrated average and above of work engagement levels with total mean score of (3.99± 1.15 SD), Dental specialists (3.74±1.29 SD), GP dentists (4.22 ± 1.21 SD), dental assistants (3.95 ± 1.02 SD).