Tahir S, Bashir A, Rafique A, Khan J S.
Factors That Support Female Dentists In Pursuing Their Profession In Pakistan.
Biomedica Jan ;33(2):107-12.

Background and Objectives: Dentistry is a profession where due to the phenomenal growth of Pakistani population, the ratio of dentists to population has greatly decreased and is currently 1:16,426. One contributing factor in this regard is females who drop out from the profession. In this study,a qualitative method has been chosen to investigate, the reasons which enable female dentist to carry on with their profession. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were the primary method of data collection. Twelve female dentists were included in the study.The interviews that were conducted and audio recorded were transcribed verbatim. A qualitative content analysis was conducted, and the transcripts were coded. After familiarization of data, coding was employed to reach major themes emerging in the data. The internal validity was verified by taking out word cloud by using Wordle. Result: In most of the cases support system was the most common factor that helped the female dentists in pursuing their career. Social support system consisted of family/husband and supervisor/peer support system. This was found to be the most dependent factor, without which the job could not be continued. Conclusion: Human Resource policies, rules and regulations supporting working women should be formulated. Existing rules and regulations supporting working women should be implemented. A longterm campaign should be undertaken on social media to bring about changes in attitudes and views of the society regarding gender equality.

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