Journal of Dental Research, Vol 55, 121-129, Copyright © 1976 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Development of scales to measure provider attitudes toward expanded duty dental auxiliaries
P. K. Berger, L. R. Domer and T. M. Cooper
Much of the research on attitudes toward utilizing EDDAs has been rather
haphazard in its measurement aspects. Examining responses to single items
or summing across a series of items without any empirical rationale for
such summing cannot be justified given current knowledge about measuring
attitudes. The scales developed here are appreciably better from a
psychometric point of view than scales reported in the dental literature to
date. The use of standardized measuring instruments would facilitate
cross-study comparisons. Such a process is presently not feasible because
each researcher is using his own idiosyncratic scales of unknown
psychometric characteristics. The three scales developed here to measure
(1) the value of expanding auxiliary functions, (2) patient reaction to the
use of EDDAs, and (3) satisfaction with changed dentist role may permit
more standardized measurement of at least some aspects of provider and
future provider attitudes toward the utilization of expanded duty dental
auxiliaries.
