Investigation of the Efficacy of Clinical Communication Between Dentists and Patients and Its Impact on Patient’s Satisfaction. A Prospective Cohort Study in Greek Population.

Anastasia Lianou1, George Koutsonas2, Maria Lazaridou3, Ioannis Tilaveridis2,4, Maria Kozaridou5, Gregory Venetis6, Lambros Zouloumis7

DOI: 10.54936/haoms262542

SUMMARY: The training of doctors to develop commu- nication skills in order to provide effective care to their patients leads clinical research to thoroughly examine the clinical communication between the physician and the patient and to delineate the appropriate communi- cation model. The aim of this research is to investigate dental practitioners’ views on clinical communication and their personal perspectives, as well as their patients’ views expressing their opinion on how they perceive doctor-patient communication. Also, the patients’ sat- isfaction by their dentist and their clinical communica- tion is examined. For this reason, a cohort study was conducted. A quantitative analysis was applied, using a questionnaire as a research instrument. The sample of the research consisted of the 200 patients who visited the dental department of the public Hospitals in the Re- gion of Thessaly in Greece. Simple random sampling was used as the sampling method. According to the results, patients are quite satisfied with the communication they have with the dentist of the Hospital dental department and the examination as well as the behavior of both the dentist and the staff. In addition, clinical doctor-patient communication affects patients’ satisfaction with both the doctor’s examination and behavior. Finally, the de-mographic characteristics of gender, age and level of education affect patient satisfaction during the exami- nation in relation to the doctor’s behavior. The results highlight the factors of clinical communication that affect both users of dental services satisfaction and the quality of the services provided. The importance of establishing a good communication relationship between the dentist and the patient is crucial, as it affects the outcomes of dental treatment and the patients’ desire to take care of their oral health. Therefore, it is imperative that the den- tists be trained and educated in communication issues.
 
KEY WORDS: Dentistry, clinical communication, doc- tor-patient relationship, quality of services, patient satis- faction, satisfaction factors, demographic factors.

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