Department of Public Health Dentistry, Manipal College of Dental Sciences Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
F1000Res. 2024 May 28;13:157. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.146781.2. eCollection 2024.
Comprehensive oral care is a service centered around the patient, and individuals who need it the most often face limited access. Patient perception acts as a guide for enhancing quality, ensuring patients' future intent to utilize the services and facilitating recommendations to others. The present study aimed to assess the patients' perception of comprehensive dental services availed at a Primary Health Center (PHC).
This qualitative study was based on a phenomenological interpretive approach, and judgment sampling method was employed. A validated interview guide, developed from relevant literature was employed in the local language to conduct interviews among adults visiting the PHC, gathering their views regarding the services provided. The interviews were audio recorded on a digital voice recorder, and files were password protected. Content saturation guided the determination of the final number of participants interviewed. After translating and transcribing the interviews, thematic analysis and coding were performed using ATLAS. ti 23 for Windows.
A total of 12 participants were included in the study, following data saturation. Among them, there were 8(66.7%) female and 4(33.3%) male participants. Ten overarching main themes were discerned through the assigned codes, including positive views, neutral views, negative views, previous dental clinics visited, previous experience with dental treatment, treatments sought at the center, referrals, source of information about the dental center, subsequent visits and suggestions for improvement.
The findings of this study revealed a positive patient perception of the comprehensive dental services offered at the PHC. Through insightful interviews, various strengths, and areas for improvement regarding the center and care provision were identified. These insights provide valuable suggestions that can be applied to elevate the utilization of dental services, ensuring continuous improvement in patient care.
全面口腔护理是以患者为中心的服务，而最需要护理的人群往往面临着有限的服务获取途径。患者感知可以作为提高服务质量的指南，确保患者未来有意愿继续使用这些服务，并促进向他人推荐。本研究旨在评估在基层医疗保健中心（PHC）获得全面牙科服务的患者感知。
这是一项基于现象学解释方法的定性研究，采用了判断抽样法。采用经过验证的访谈指南，根据相关文献在当地语言中对到 PHC 就诊的成年人进行访谈，收集他们对提供服务的看法。访谈使用数字语音记录器进行录音，并对文件进行密码保护。内容饱和度指导确定最终接受访谈的参与者人数。在对访谈进行翻译和转录后，使用 ATLAS.ti 23 for Windows 进行主题分析和编码。
在数据饱和后，共纳入 12 名参与者。其中，女性 8 名（66.7%），男性 4 名（33.3%）。通过分配的代码，确定了 10 个总体主题，包括积极看法、中立看法、消极看法、之前就诊的牙科诊所、之前的牙科治疗经验、在中心寻求的治疗、转诊、有关牙科中心的信息来源、后续就诊和改进建议。
本研究结果显示，患者对 PHC 提供的全面牙科服务有积极的感知。通过深入访谈，确定了中心和护理提供方面的各种优势和改进领域。这些见解提供了有价值的建议，可以应用于提高牙科服务的利用率，确保患者护理的持续改进。
