School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.
School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2023 Jun 27;18(6):e0287886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287886. eCollection 2023.
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) has had significant impact on dentistry in Fiji. Due to lack of previous study, this study aims to explore the perspective of Dental Officers (DOs) and Dental Managers (DMs) on the effects of COVID-19 on dental service delivery in Fiji Islands.
This qualitative study was conducted amongst 30 DOs and 17 DMs between 9th August to 12th September, 2021. It was conducted in the government dental clinics, private dental clinics and the School of Dentistry and Oral Health clinic (SDOH), in the Central Division, Fiji. The study settings were randomly selected. Purposive sampling method was used for the selection of participants who met the study criteria. Semi-structure open ended questionnaires were used for data collection through in-depth interviews via zoom. Manual thematic analysis of the data was conducted to derive themes and codes.
The participants interviewed for the study included more female DOs (66.7%) and male DMs (58.8%). Seven themes emerged from data analysis: range of services delivered, appointment versus walk-in patients for aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), impact of pandemic on clinic opening hours, impact of COVID-19 on patient numbers, quality of services delivered, resources and infrastructure, perceptions about the burden of disease.
COVID-19 has significantly affected dental service delivery. Mostly emergency dental services were delivered. AGPs were delivered on appointment basis. Most participants stated the quality of services had improved. Participants stated that they were not given adequate resources and the infrastructure was not up to standard to provide dental services during the pandemic. The dental disease burden had increased during the pandemic as per the participants. Future research can be conducted amongst other dental professionals in other divisions of the country.
世界卫生组织（WHO）宣布 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）为全球大流行，这对斐济的牙科产生了重大影响。由于缺乏先前的研究，本研究旨在探讨牙科官员（DO）和牙科经理（DM）对 COVID-19 对斐济群岛牙科服务提供的影响的看法。
这项定性研究是在 2021 年 8 月 9 日至 9 月 12 日期间在 30 名 DO 和 17 名 DM 中进行的。它在政府牙科诊所、私人牙科诊所和口腔健康学院（SDOH）进行，地点位于斐济中央区。研究环境是随机选择的。采用目的抽样法选择符合研究标准的参与者。通过 zoom 进行深入访谈，使用半结构化开放式问卷收集数据。对数据进行手动主题分析，以得出主题和代码。
参加这项研究的受访者包括更多的女性 DO（66.7%）和男性 DM（58.8%）。数据分析中出现了七个主题：提供的服务范围、预约与非预约看诊的气溶胶生成程序（AGP）患者、大流行对诊所营业时间的影响、大流行对就诊人数的影响、提供的服务质量、资源和基础设施、对疾病负担的看法。
COVID-19 对牙科服务提供产生了重大影响。主要提供紧急牙科服务。AGP 是按预约提供的。大多数参与者表示服务质量有所提高。参与者表示，在大流行期间，他们没有得到足够的资源，基础设施也不符合提供牙科服务的标准。根据参与者的说法，大流行期间牙科疾病负担增加了。未来可以在该国其他地区的其他牙科专业人员中进行研究。
