Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The attitudes of Indiana dentists toward the treatment of cerebral
palsied patients were investigated. A two-page questionnaire constructed
by the investigator was used. A sample of 506 dentists were selected: 402 general practitioners
chosen on the basis of year of graduation, location and community size;
and 104 specialists chosen on the basis of geographic location and type
of practice. All of the practicing specialties were represented.
Eighty percent of the questionnaires were returned, including 75
percent of general practitioners and 97 percent of specialists.
The first hypothesis, that general practitioners are reluctant to
treat cerebral palsied patients, was disproved. Forty-eight percent of
the general practitioners had treated one or more such patients in the
past year and 84 percent indicated willingness to treat these patients.
The general practitioners cited a lack of proper equipment and a feeling
of apprehension as problems. The second hypothesis, that the general practitioner in a community of less than 2,500 is more reluctant
to treat cerebral palsied patients than those in a larger city, was also disproved. No statistically significant difference was found based
on community size. The third hypothesis, that the general practitioner
who has graduated from dental school within the last 10 years is less
reluctant to treat these patients than earlier graduates, was also
disproved. No statistically significant difference was found between
these groups. The fourth hypothesis, that the general practitioner
feels that he did not receive adequate education concerning treatment
of these patients and is willing to acquire more knowledge, was verified.
The fifth hypothesis, that the specialist is less reluctant to
treat patients with cerebral palsy than is the general practitioners
was verified. Nearly 90 per cent of the specialists indicated a willingness
to treat patients with cerebral palsy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/3554 |
| Date | January 1977 |
| Creators | Wickliffe, Thomas James, 1946- |
| Contributors | Gish, Charles W., 1923-, Koerber, Leonard G., Roche, James R., 1924-, Starkey, Paul E., Barton, Paul |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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