THROUGH SOCIAL LENSES: THE ACCEPTABILITY OF ORAL HEALTH THERAPISTS (OHTs) IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Social acceptability of healthcare services is a domain of measurement when evaluating the quality and effectiveness of care. Dyer, Owens, & Robinson (2014) suggests the conceptualisation of social acceptability to be twofold: 1) social legitimacy and 2) experiential acceptability, with the importance of understanding both potential and existing service users’ attitudes towards healthcare systems. Recent findings by Lee et al. (2018) reported low public awareness and knowledge of the Oral Health Therapy profession in Singapore. Currently, there is sparse literature on societal perspectives towards Oral Health Therapists (OHTs). Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the public’s awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of OHTs in Singapore. A representative sample of 267 adults participated in a cross- sectional survey collecting data on several explanatory variables, along with their level of awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of OHTs. Results showed low awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of OHTs in Singapore. Acceptability for adult care by OHTs was more likely to be predicted by being female and visiting public dental clinics. Those older and having higher levels of anxiety were less likely to report acceptability. Experiential acceptability was predicted by high patient satisfaction. These findings provide evidence-based accounts of patient-OHT experiences for future professional development.