Ageism Among Dentists in Greece. A Quantitative Survey

Abstract

Abstract Aims and objectivesThe phenomenon of ageism is a significant threat to elderly people’s well-being. Ageism is a social determinant of their dental health. While a preliminary validation of the Greek version of the ageing scale for dental students has recently been made, there is a literature gap regarding the topic of ageism among dental professionals in Greece. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. A recently validated in Greece 15‐item ageism 6-point Likert-scale for dental students (ASDS) was anonymously administered to dentists. In addition, participants were asked to provide information regarding their socio-demographics. ResultsA total of 365 dentists responded to the questionnaire. As to the internal consistency of the scale, Cronbach's alpha found to be very low (α = 0.590) to support the reliability of a total of 15 Likert-type questions (items) of the scale. However, the factor analysis resulted in three factors that achieved high reliability towards validity: Adherence of the elderly patient to the instructions of the dentist (factor 1), Dentist-elderly patient interaction (factor 2), and Values/ethics of dentists for elderly patients (factor 3). The demographic comparison with these factors and single items revealed statistically significant gender differences (with females appeared more ageist than men) in ageism and differences related to other socio-demographic factors, which however, were related to factors or items individually.ConclusionThe study revealed that the Greek version of the ageism scale for dental students had not further validity and reliability among dentists. However, some items were distributed into three factors that presented significant validity and reliability. The demographic comparison with these factors and single items revealed interesting socio-demographics-related trends in ageism among dentists.

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