Patients' satisfaction with dental care: a qualitative study to develop a satisfaction instrument

Area of Science:

• Oral health research
• Patient-centered care
• Qualitative research methodology

Background:

• Understanding patient satisfaction is crucial for improving dental care quality.
• Existing instruments may not fully capture the patient experience in dental settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient evaluations of satisfaction in dental care.
• To gather patient insights for developing a new dental satisfaction instrument.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research involving focus group discussions with dental patients.
• Discussions were conducted in Cantonese, audio/video recorded, and transcribed.
• Thematic analysis was applied to identify key satisfaction themes.

Main Results:

• Six major themes emerged: attitude, cost, convenience, pain management, quality, and perceived need for prevention.
• Patient feedback covered aspects beyond existing Dental Satisfaction Questionnaire (DSQ) items.
• New themes included staff attitude, emergency service convenience, admission, and treatment duration.

Conclusions:

• Focus group discussions revealed patient perspectives not captured by the DSQ.
• These insights highlight opportunities for enhancing existing satisfaction questionnaires or developing new ones.