Analysis of trade newspapers related to dental hygienists as healthcare professionals using language analysis technique: using R program

Song-Yi  Kim1   Ga-Rim  Yoon1   Dong-Hyun Kang1   Su-Jin Kim1   Si-Eun Lee1   Soo-Bin  Jang1   Seong-Min Hong1   Ji-Hoon  Hwang1   Nam-Hee   Kim1,*   

Department of Dental Hygiene, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to analyze the trade newspapers related to ‘recognition of the dental hygienist as the healthcare professional‘ using R program and to identify opinions of groups concerned with dental hygienists. This study was designed with contents analysis and cross-sectional. The subjects of the study were the articles for the last three years in medical and dental newspapers about the recognition of the dental hygienist as the healthcare professional. The collected articles were categorized and classified for each group’s opinions about the issue. The key words were extracted according to the priorities of the opinions of agreement and disagreement. They were visualized after frequency analysis using R, a big data analysis program. A total of 237 newspaper articles were extracted among 270 ones containing opinions. 245 were positive opinions and 25 were negatives. The main key words of the agreement were ‘Amendment of Medical Law’, ‘Medical Practice’, and ‘Legal Guarantee of the Practice’. Advocates addressed that the issues should be resolved with the amendment of the law, as dental hygienists are not guaranteed to work based on the current law although they are actually doing the medical practices. Main key words of disagreement were ‘Legal Guarantee of the Practice’, ‘Revision of Medical Technician Law’, and ‘Review of Job Type’. They described that the problem can be resolved by revising medical technicians act, and it needs to consider as job types of all healthcare professional. In the group who showed the positive opinions, it is possible to utilize measures such as promoting the cooperation of dental hygienists and developing public consensus through publicity.

Figures & Tables

Results deriving positive opinions' key words by priority