Department of Developmental Biology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
BMC Oral Health. 2024 Apr 20;24(1):480. doi: 10.1186/s12903-024-04245-2.
BACKGROUND: Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect orthodontists' use of remote monitoring platforms? The goal of this research was to examine orthodontists' experiences implementing remote monitoring platforms before, during, and after the initial COVID-19 lockdown. METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional survey study, an electronic, anonymous questionnaire consisting of a series of 31 short-answer and multiple-choice questions was administered to an international sampling of practicing orthodontists. The target population in the study included currently practicing orthodontists who were graduates of an accredited orthodontic residency program. Participants were recruited in 2021 through collaboration with the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Partners in Research Program and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Orthodontic Alumni Association. Descriptive analysis was conducted, reporting frequency (N and %) distributions for each question. The questionnaire aimed to describe whether orthodontists incorporated remote monitoring platforms into their practices, their experiences doing so, and if the COVID-19 pandemic influenced their use of these resources. RESULTS: Orthodontists' use of remote monitoring platforms was negligible prior to the pandemic; however, a quarter of surveyed orthodontists began using a remote monitoring platform during COVID-19 and nearly all respondents plan to continue using remote monitoring for the foreseeable future. Approximately half of orthodontists believe most patients' treatment progress can be monitored to the standard of care between in-person orthodontic appointments using remote monitoring platforms. Half of the orthodontists who do not currently use a remote monitoring platform in their practice are interested in learning more about how to implement one. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the interest and adoption of remote monitoring platforms in orthodontic practices. Most orthodontists had not incorporated remote monitoring platforms into their practices prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this study revealed that a subset of orthodontists utilized the pandemic as motivation to incorporate remote monitoring into their practices and an additional group of orthodontists were interested in incorporating one in the future. Remote monitoring platforms garnered interest and importance with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and may only have an increasing role in the field in years to come.
背景:新冠疫情是否影响了正畸医生使用远程监测平台?本研究旨在调查正畸医生在新冠疫情初始封锁期间之前、期间和之后实施远程监测平台的经验。
方法:在这项描述性的横断面调查研究中,向国际范围内的执业正畸医生群体发放了一份包含 31 个简答题和多项选择题的电子匿名问卷。该研究的目标人群包括毕业于认可的正畸住院医师培训项目的现任执业正畸医生。参与者是在 2021 年通过与美国正畸协会(AAO)合作伙伴研究计划和哈佛牙医学院正畸校友协会合作招募的。对每个问题的频率(N 和%)分布进行描述性分析。该问卷旨在描述正畸医生是否将远程监测平台纳入其实践、他们实施远程监测平台的经验,以及新冠疫情是否影响了他们对这些资源的使用。
结果:在疫情之前,正畸医生使用远程监测平台的情况很少见;然而,四分之一接受调查的正畸医生在新冠疫情期间开始使用远程监测平台,几乎所有受访者都计划在可预见的未来继续使用远程监测。大约一半的正畸医生认为,在使用远程监测平台的情况下,大多数患者的治疗进展可以在两次面对面的正畸预约之间达到护理标准。在实践中不使用远程监测平台的正畸医生中有一半对更多地了解如何实施远程监测平台感兴趣。
结论:新冠疫情导致正畸实践中对远程监测平台的兴趣和采用增加。在新冠疫情之前,大多数正畸医生尚未将远程监测平台纳入其实践。然而,本研究表明,一部分正畸医生将疫情作为将远程监测纳入其实践的动力,还有一部分正畸医生将来有兴趣将远程监测纳入实践。随着新冠疫情的到来,远程监测平台引起了人们的兴趣和重视,并且在未来几年可能会在该领域发挥越来越重要的作用。
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