Butters J M, Willis D O
Department of Periodontics, Endodontics, and Dental Hygiene, University of Louisville School of Dentistry, KY 40202, USA.
J Dent Educ. 2000 Jun;64(6):409-15.
Patient satisfaction is becoming an increasingly important indicator of quality dental care. However, most patient satisfaction surveys target only the current patients of the dental practice or institution, which may give an inflated estimate of satisfaction with care, since dissatisfied patients are likely to have left the practice or institution. The purpose of this study was to compare the satisfaction of three categories of dental school patients with several aspects of care received at the school. Data were collected using a telephone survey of 291 patients, systematically selected from the dental school's computer listings of all current, recall, and former patients. The survey instrument sought information about why respondents came to the school for dental treatment, why respondents who were no longer in treatment had dropped out of care, and respondents' opinions on eleven aspects of quality of care provided at the dental school. Dental students who had completed a training session served as interviewers. Results indicate that, overall, patient satisfaction with the care received was high, with none of the means for any category of patient falling into the dissatisfied range. Respondents who had dropped out of care were less satisfied than active or recall patients in five areas: quality of care, length and number of appointments, treatment explanation, and fees. Results have implications for dental school administrators and educators in their efforts to provide high quality patient care and to retain an adequate patient pool to ensure optimal clinical experiences for students.
患者满意度正日益成为优质牙科护理的一项重要指标。然而，大多数患者满意度调查仅针对牙科诊所或机构的现有患者，这可能会高估对护理的满意度，因为不满意的患者很可能已经离开了该诊所或机构。本研究的目的是比较三类牙科学院患者对在该校接受的护理的几个方面的满意度。通过对291名患者进行电话调查收集数据，这些患者是从牙科学院所有现有、召回和以前患者的计算机列表中系统选取的。调查问卷询问了受访者来该校接受牙科治疗的原因、不再接受治疗的受访者停止护理的原因，以及受访者对牙科学院提供的护理质量的11个方面的看法。完成培训课程的牙科学生担任访谈员。结果表明，总体而言，患者对所接受护理的满意度较高，任何一类患者的平均得分均未落入不满意范围。在护理质量、预约时长和次数、治疗解释以及费用这五个方面，停止护理的受访者不如正在接受治疗或召回的患者满意。研究结果对牙科学院管理人员和教育工作者努力提供高质量患者护理以及保留足够的患者群体以确保学生获得最佳临床体验具有启示意义。
