Dental patients as partners in promoting quality and safety: a qualitative exploratory study

Active patient involvement in promoting quality and safety is a priority for healthcare. We investigated how dental patients perceive their role as partners in promoting quality and safety across various dental care settings.

Focus group sessions were conducted at three dental practice settings: an academic dental center, a community dental clinic, and a large group private practice, from October 2018-July 2019. Patients were recruited through flyers or word-of-mouth invitations. Each session lasted 2.5 h and patients completed a demographic and informational survey at the beginning. Audio recordings were transcribed, and a hybrid thematic analysis was performed by two independent reviewers using Dedoose.

Forty-seven participants took part in eight focus group sessions; 70.2% were females and 38.3% were aged 45-64 years. Results were organized into three major themes: patients' overall perception of dental quality and safety; patients' reaction to an adverse dental event; and patients' role in promoting quality and safety. Dental patients were willing to participate in promoting quality and safety by careful provider selection, shared decision-making, self-advocacy, and providing post-treatment provider evaluations. Their reactions towards adverse dental events varied based on the type of dental practice setting. Some factors that influenced a patient's overall perception of dental quality and safety included provider credentials, communication skills, cleanliness, and durability of dental treatment.

The type of dental practice setting affected patients' desire to work as partners in promoting dental quality and safety. Although patients acknowledged having an important role to play in their care, their willingness to participate depended on their relationship with their provider and their perception of provider receptivity to patient feedback.