Saudi dental hygienists’ opinions regarding establishing a professional association

AIM: To assess the opinions of dental hygienists in Saudi Arabia regarding the establishment of a professional association including the role it should have to meet their professional needs. METHODS: A cross-sectional electronic survey using Qualtrics was utilized. IRB exemption was obtained prior to distribution. Although there are 298 licensed Saudi dental hygienists in Saudi Arabia, email addresses were only available for 101 respondents: those obtained previously by direct contact for the purpose of initiation of a professional association and those referred by the direct contacts. Subjects were emailed a link to the survey. RESULTS: Seventy-seven subjects responded fully to the survey yielding a response rate of 70.3%. Most 91.5% (n = 65) of the respondents favoured the establishment of a Saudi dental hygiene professional association. Eighty-eight per cent (n = 59) responded that such an association would promote development of the profession in the country at least somewhat and 86.6% (n = 58) agreed that their professional needs could be met by its establishment. Interestingly, half of those who did not support the creation of the professional association believed it would promote development of the profession and meet professional needs. CONCLUSIONS: A representative sample of dental hygienists in Saudi Arabia support the establishment of a professional association and feel that it would advocate and promote the dental hygiene profession in the country and meet their professional needs.