Developing the teledentistry acceptance survey for dentists - TAS-D: a Delphi study.

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Health Informatics
• Technology Adoption

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated interest in teledentistry.
• Evaluating dentists' willingness to adopt teledentistry is crucial for its successful implementation.
• Understanding factors influencing teledentistry adoption is essential for effective integration into dental practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a valid questionnaire assessing dentists' intention to use teledentistry.
• To identify key factors influencing the adoption of teledentistry among dentists.
• To utilize the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) framework for assessing teledentistry acceptance.

Main Methods:

• Literature search to identify questionnaire items.
• Adoption of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as a theoretical framework.
• Utilized a Delphi panel of teledentistry experts for consensus building over three rounds.
• Established consensus at 80% agreement and used Content Validity Ratio (CVR) for item validation.

Main Results:

• A final 33-item questionnaire was developed across three sections: dentist background, teledentistry uses, and intention/determinants.
• Expert consensus was achieved, increasing the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) from 0.45 to 0.80.
• The questionnaire effectively assesses dentists' intention to use teledentistry and its associated factors.

Conclusions:

• A robust survey tool was created to evaluate teledentistry acceptance among dentists.
• The tool is grounded in the UTAUT2 framework and expert consensus.
• The developed questionnaire demonstrates excellent validity and requires further psychometric evaluation.