Research Unit of Population Health, Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Paediatric Dentistry, University of Oulu, 90014, Univeristy of Oulu, Finland.
Dental Teaching Unit, City of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Clin Exp Dent Res. 2022 Oct;8(5):1284-1294. doi: 10.1002/cre2.625. Epub 2022 Jul 1.
Patient-centered approach can offer valuable information in improving dental care, but literature is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate self-reported factors beneficial for attendance in dental care.
Survey data were collected during the summer of 2020 comprising both structured questionnaires and an open question on factors considered beneficial for dental attendance. Voluntary patients over 15 years of age (n = 196, 98%) agreed to fill the questionnaires, and n = 112 of them (57%) also gave open commentary in an urgent dental care clinic, City of Oulu, Finland, comprising the study population. Dental fear was assessed by Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) sum scores (min 5, max 25). All utterances (n = 181) on an open question were evaluated by inductive content analysis to create sub- and main categories. Covid-19 pandemic case counts in Finland were low at the time of the survey, but their effect on seeking dental care was asked. The distribution of patients was evaluated by cross-tabulation, considering their age, gender, and dental fear status; the significance level was p < .05.
Females dominated slightly the study population (57%). The mean age of the respondents was 44 years. Half (50%) had moderate (MDAS score 10-18), and 10% had severe dental fear (≥19). The open responses could be categorized into four main categories. The largest main category by patient count concerned factors related to personnel (29%), followed by the patient (28%) and treatment (25%) related, and administrative factors (19%). Males chose factors falling into categories of administration and treatment while females chose patient and personnel-related factors (p = .048). Compared to the rest, fearful persons (MDAS > 9) reported more often factors related to personnel and treatment (p = .03). Of all participants, 17% reported seeking less dental care during the pandemic.
Patients value dental personnel and treatment-related factors, specifically those with fear.
以患者为中心的方法可以为改善口腔护理提供有价值的信息，但相关文献却很少。本研究旨在评估有助于患者就诊的自我报告因素。
2020 年夏季期间收集了调查数据，包括结构化问卷和一个关于就诊有益因素的开放性问题。196 名（98%）15 岁以上的自愿患者同意填写问卷，其中 112 名（57%）还在芬兰奥卢市的一家紧急牙科诊所提供了开放性评论，构成了研究人群。使用改良牙科焦虑量表（MDAS）总分（5-25 分）评估患者的牙科焦虑程度。对开放性问题中的所有言论（n=181）进行归纳内容分析，以创建子类别和主类别。在调查时，芬兰的新冠病例数较低，但仍询问了其对寻求牙科护理的影响。通过交叉制表评估患者的分布，考虑其年龄、性别和牙科焦虑程度；显著性水平为 p<.05。
女性略占研究人群的多数（57%）。受访者的平均年龄为 44 岁。其中一半（50%）有中度牙科焦虑（MDAS 评分 10-18），10%有严重牙科焦虑（≥19）。开放性回答可分为四个主要类别。按患者数量计算，最大的主要类别涉及人员相关因素（29%），其次是患者（28%）和治疗（25%）相关，以及行政因素（19%）。男性选择与行政和治疗相关的因素，而女性选择与患者和人员相关的因素（p=0.048）。与其他人相比，感到恐惧的人（MDAS>9）更常报告与人员和治疗相关的因素（p=0.03）。在所有参与者中，17%的人报告在疫情期间减少了看牙次数。
患者重视与口腔医务人员和治疗相关的因素，尤其是那些感到恐惧的患者。
