Perceptions of quality and safety among dental patients

Abstract

From the perspective of patients, quality of care can be defined as the ability of healthcare products and services to satisfy their stated or implied needs. Dental professionals have a moral obligation to deliver the best quality care in today's increasingly informed, consumer-driven society. To jumpstart the discussion on assessing quality of dental care, using patient perceptions. A cross-sectional study of South African dental patients. Questionnaires were distributed to all non-emergency, adult patients at a teaching dental hospital in South Africa. The outcome variables were: a) Access to Care; b) Technical Quality; c) Structure and Facilities; d) Communication; e) Global Rating of Safety. Overall, 58.6% of the participants had a positive view about the quality of dental care in South Africa. Age, race, marital status, child status, employment status, household income and educational status were associated with higher quality ratings. The question: "The instrument used in treating me appeared clean" (97.6%) was rated highly, while the question "Whenever I was sent to a new dentist, I had to repeat the tests that I did at the previous dentist" rated very low (36.9%). The findings suggest that the dental profession still has challenges in meeting the expectations of patients. Healthcare quality, patient safety, patient-reported outcome measures, dental care. From the patient's perspective, quality of care can be defined as the ability of healthcare products and services to satisfy their stated or implied needs. 1 As defined by the Committee on Healthcare Quality in America, Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the seven aims for healthcare quality is Patient-centered Care ("providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions"). 2 The committee further describes the core dimensions of patient-centered care as: 1) Respect for patient values, attention to patient preferences and expressed needs; 2) Coordination and integration of care; 3) Information, communication and education;

Behavioural video to navigate predoctoral dental students toward safer practice (revision of EJE‐21‐4739)

“…Basics and information regarding dental local anaesthesia are multifactorial. Learning is comprised of fundamentals, pharmacology and clinical application into safe practice 2,3,11,12,16,20,23 . Predoctoral dental students synchronously participate in 18 h of traditional lectures, didactic learning and seminars.…”

“…The aim of the video is to challenge predoctoral dental operators to think critically about unacceptable clinical errors that commonly lead to adverse clinical outcomes. Adverse clinical outcomes involve an increased risk of NSI and behaviours that could be perceived as harmful by the patient 11–15,20,23,24 . Grading of summative assessment was completed by the course director.…”

“…Learning is comprised of fundamentals, pharmacology and clinical application into safe practice. 2,3,11,12,16,20,23 Predoctoral dental students synchronously participate in 18 h of traditional lectures, didactic learning and seminars. Part of the preclinical local anaesthesia curriculum includes peer-to-peer injection rotation where each dental student, acts as a dental operator.…”

“…Adverse clinical outcomes involve an increased risk of NSI and behaviours that could be perceived as harmful by the patient. [11][12][13][14][15]20,23,24 Grading of summative assessment was completed by the course director.…”

Integrating dentistry into palliative medicine - Novel insights and opportunities

“…Dental profession has huge challenges in meeting these expectations." 7 The purpose of this article is to offer practical tips and techniques for establishing successful oral palliative care. South Africa has a population of 55 million people of which 62% constitutes the urban population.…”