School of Orthodontics, Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America.
Orthodontics Private Practice, Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America.
J Contemp Dent Pract. 2022 Sep 1;23(9):913-923. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10024-3376.
The purpose of this study was to determine the demand for orthodontic appointments on weekends and the level of commitment the patients have for those appointments.
A survey of 17 questions was created and given to 199 adult patients. The first six questions addressed demographic information, followed by three questions addressing whether coming to their orthodontic appointments required taking time off of work. The remaining questions asked if they would prefer to attend orthodontic appointments on Saturday if they would take advantage of a Saturday appointment, and what their preferred time and level of commitment would be for this appointment. The data were analyzed using the logistic-regression Chi-square test.
About 77.4% of the participants indicated that they would take advantage of appointments on Saturdays if available. The most preferred time for Saturday appointments was 7:00 am-10:00 am, followed by 10:00 am-12:00 pm. About 60.6% of the participants reported that they would be willing to sign up for AutoPay in order to be seen on Saturday. Among those who would take advantage of weekend appointments, 82.6% reported that they would likely never miss or reschedule a Saturday appointment, and 75.3% would choose an orthodontist who is open on Saturday over another orthodontist who is not. Among participants who work more than 40 hours per week, 86.1% (106) wanted to take advantage of Saturday appointments. Participants with a high household income are less inclined to take advantage of Saturday appointments compared with those with a low household income. Participants who need to take time off of work are more inclined to take advantage of Saturday appointments [93% (106) favorable vs 7% (8) unfavorable]. Participants who need to take their child out of school early for their orthodontic appointments during the week are more inclined to take advantage of Saturday appointments [87% (97) favorable vs 13% (15) unfavorable] than those who do not need to.
There is a demand for Saturday orthodontic appointments with a very high commitment level among the majority of those patients. The Saturday demographic tends to be participants with a low household income who work 40 or more hours per week.
Orthodontic offices may consider working at least one Saturday per month to satisfy patient needs. They can use this survey to explore their own market for Saturday clinical practice.
本研究旨在确定周末正畸预约的需求以及患者对此类预约的承诺程度。
创建了一份包含 17 个问题的调查，并分发给 199 名成年患者。前六个问题涉及人口统计学信息，接下来的三个问题涉及参加正畸预约是否需要请假。其余问题询问他们是否愿意在周六参加正畸预约，如果有周六预约，他们会利用周六预约，以及他们对预约的首选时间和承诺程度。数据使用逻辑回归卡方检验进行分析。
约 77.4%的参与者表示，如果有周六预约，他们会利用这一机会。周六预约的最受欢迎时间是上午 7:00-10:00，其次是上午 10:00-12:00。约 60.6%的参与者表示，他们愿意注册自动支付服务，以便在周六就诊。在那些愿意利用周末预约的患者中，82.6%表示他们很可能不会错过或重新安排周六预约，75.3%会选择周六营业的正畸医生，而不是不营业的医生。每周工作超过 40 小时的参与者中，有 86.1%（106 人）希望利用周六预约。高收入家庭的参与者不太倾向于利用周六预约，而低收入家庭的参与者则更倾向于利用周六预约。需要请假的患者更倾向于利用周六预约[93%（106 人）赞成，7%（8 人）不赞成]。需要提前让孩子请假去做正畸治疗的患者更倾向于利用周六预约[87%（97 人）赞成，13%（15 人）不赞成]，而不需要的患者则不那么倾向于利用周六预约。
大多数患者对周六正畸预约有很高的需求和承诺度。周六就诊的患者人群往往是收入较低、每周工作 40 小时或以上的患者。
正畸诊所可能会考虑每月至少安排一个周六上班，以满足患者的需求。他们可以使用这项调查来探索自己的周六临床实践市场。
