บทบาทหน้าที่ของทันตาภิบาลที่ปฏิบัติงานจริงใน โรงพยาบาลชุมชน : กรณีศึกษาโรงพยาบาลชุมชน 4 แห่งในจังหวัดลำปาง

Abstract

This descriptive study employed qualitative data collection. The primary objective was to understand the practical roles of dental therapist in Lampang Provience. The subjects of this study were 15 dental therapists who work at district hospital, 2 lecturers of Sirindhorn College of Public Health and a secretary of Dental Auxiliary Association. The methodology used in this study was semi-structured interview and the data were collected between April - August 2014. Content analysis was used in this study. The results revealed that the practical roles of dental therapist at District Hospital related to an uncleared public health policy and dynamic changes in the preparation of dental therapists from Sirindhorn College of Public Health. As a result, the practical roles of dental therapist depended on conditions and regulations of each province and hospital they were working for. Conditions at province level consisted of working culture that rather strictly followed policy and indicators of the Ministry of Public Health . At the hospital level, it depended on policy of dental personnels in each dental department, especially manpower administration. Moreover, dental therapist felt legally insecure while providing dental treatment. They found that preparation from the college was not enough for working in District Hospital and felt inferior to the dentists. Since there were the dynamic changes of their roles, the dental therapists adapted themselves to perform different task by learning from their daily practice, learning from other dental therapists who had more experience, participating in the academic conferences, enrolling the continuing educations, and forming their group supports both in daily life and as Dental Auxiliary Association.