Dental Protection introduces the Thrive at Work project, which will promote mental health and wellbeing in dental professionals worldwide.
The MPS Foundation – a global not-for-profit research initiative that invests in research into patient safety and the wellbeing of healthcare professionals – is funding a project that will provide tailored interventions to protect dentists’ health and wellbeing.
The Thrive at Work project, led by Affinity Health at Work, aims to equip dentists around the world with the knowledge, skills and confidence to use psychological and practical tools to promote their mental health, and identify and manage risks within their working conditions. These include managing work, patient and financial demands.
It will establish a co-design group of 10 to 15 members drawing on dentists and stakeholders from academic and professional body communities. It will also work with the group through a series of workshops and focus groups to develop and evaluate a prototype intervention, and provide information on the usability, feasibility and scalability of the new intervention.
Filling gaps in the research
Marleen Reinke, senior consultant at Affinity Health at Work said: ‘Through our previous research, also funded by the MPS Foundation, we found that there is very little peer-reviewed research examining the work environment and specifically the risk factors experienced by dentists. Importantly, there were no studies that tested the efficacy or impact of interventions to address work stress among the dental profession.
‘This is a marked omission when considering comparisons of the evidence available to guide intervention and support for other healthcare professions such as nurses or doctors. Using a co-design approach working with academics, practitioners, and dentists, we aim to address this gap and develop and test a tailored preventative intervention. We look forward to sharing our findings later in the year.’
Medical Protection Society (MPS) – which includes Dental Protection – launched the MPS Foundation in 2022. Now in its third year, it has already supported over 50 research projects from across the world.
To contribute evidence or register your interest in the study and the findings, visit: Preventative wellbeing intervention for dentists | Affinity Health at Work.
This article is sponsored by Dental Protection.