Factors influencing under-represented minorities interest into the dental profession

Background: Racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions is a continuing challenge. A diverse and culturally competent workforce is needed to meet the demands of the changing demographics in the US. Objective: This research aims to describe the differences in the influential factors between Under-Represented Minorities (URMs) and non-URMs to pursue dentistry. Methods: The 2011 (n=4,152) ADEA Senior Survey, response rate 85%, was used. Chi-square tests and ANOVA were performed using IBM®SPSS®20.0. Results: The composition of the 2011 dental seniors was 84.2% non-URMs and 13.6% URMs. Statistically significant (p<0.05) differences by race/ethnicity were observed in mother's educational attainment, father's educational attainment and parental income. Forty percent of URMs decided to pursue dentistry before they entered college compared to 35.4% of non-URMs. A higher proportion of URMs found visiting a dental school (17.8% vs. 9.1%), specific recruitment by a dental school (10.2% vs. 4.5%), and participation in a summer or post-baccalaureate enrichment program (17.7% vs. 4.9%), as very important influences in their decision to become a dental professional in comparison to non-URMs. A higher percentage of URMs (43.9% vs. 19.0%) reported the opportunity to serve vulnerable and low income populations and knowledge about the variety of career options in dentistry (39.4% vs. 30.8%) as a very important factor in their decision to become a dental professional in comparison to non-URMs. Conclusions: By exploring the reasons for URMs to pursue dentistry from graduating dental seniors, we gain a better understanding of the significant influences to inform recruitment strategies.