Johanna Margaretha Kroese, Brigitta Yue Zhi Li, Samuel Julian The, Jan Joseph Mathieu Bruers
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The number of elderly people worldwide and their need for dental care increases in a yearly basis. A dental practice website can be a valuable source of information to these patients that may need comprehensive or adjusted care. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the information on Dutch general dental practice websites on topics relevant to the treatment of (frail) elderly patients. Websites were selected from (1) a random sample of 217 Dutch general dental practices (sample-group) and (2) dental practices of 130 members of the Dutch Association for Gerodontology (gero-group), and screened for items in 4 categories: website functionality, contact details and accessibility, composition of the dental team, and specific information for elderly patients. Of the selected websites, 196 in the sample-group and 54 in the gero-group were eligible for data collection. Most websites mentioned opening hours, a phone number, and the composition of the dental team. Other information was overall scarce, especially regarding (frail) elderly patients. The gero-group significantly more often mentioned elderly as a specific target patient group (11,1% vs 2,6%), but numbers were overall low. Websites in the gero-group were hardly more informative or adjusted to elderly than in the sample-group; wheelchair accessibility was the only feature mentioned significantly more often (37.0% vs 17.3%). Only one website in the sample-group and 2 websites in the gero-group mentioned the possibility of home visits. In conclusion, dental practice websites lack information in general, and information relevant to elderly patients in particular, and there is room for improvement in website functionality. Additionally, general dental practices seem insufficiently equipped for the treatment of (frail) elderly patients, highlighting the need for improvement of oral healthcare for this specific patient group. This study addresses the insufficiencies in the provision of information on dental practice websites, allowing for targeted future studies towards improvement.
全世界老年人的数量和他们对牙科保健的需求每年都在增加。牙科诊所网站可以是一个有价值的信息来源，这些患者可能需要全面或调整护理。因此，本研究旨在评估荷兰普通牙科诊所网站上有关（体弱）老年患者治疗主题的信息。从(1)217家荷兰普通牙科诊所（样本组）和(2)130家荷兰老年医学会（gerodonology Association）成员的牙科诊所（gero-group）中随机抽取网站，对网站功能、联系方式和可及性、牙科团队组成和老年患者具体信息4类项目进行筛选。在选定的网站中，样本组中有196个，老年组中有54个符合数据收集条件。大多数网站都提到了开放时间、电话号码和牙科团队的组成。其他信息总体上是稀缺的，特别是关于（虚弱的）老年患者。老年组明显更多地提到老年人作为特定的目标患者组（11.1% vs 2.6%），但总体数字较低。与样本组相比，老年组的网站几乎没有提供更多的信息或对老年人进行了调整；轮椅无障碍是唯一被提及频率更高的功能（37.0%对17.3%）。样本组中只有一个网站和老年组中只有两个网站提到了家访的可能性。综上所述，牙科诊所网站普遍缺乏信息，特别是与老年患者相关的信息，网站功能有改进的空间。此外，一般牙科诊所似乎没有足够的设备来治疗（体弱）老年患者，突出需要改善这一特定患者群体的口腔保健。本研究解决了在牙科诊所网站提供信息的不足，允许有针对性的未来研究朝着改进。
期刊介绍：
The International Dental Journal features peer-reviewed, scientific articles relevant to international oral health issues, as well as practical, informative articles aimed at clinicians.
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