Exploring the Patients' Perspective on Digital Tools for Psychosocial Assessment in Dentistry

Background

Psychosocial screening is a valuable part of the assessment of patients with orofacial pain, as psychosocial factors will affect prognosis and treatment outcomes. Paper-based questionnaires are predominately used to assess the degree of psychosocial comorbidity; however, digital alternatives for screening questionnaires may be more cost-effective and resource-saving if patients are receptive to using them.

Objective

To evaluate how patients perceive digital psychosocial screening in dentistry.

Method

Using a qualitative approach, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of adult patients with orofacial pain (n = 16) recruited from specialist dental clinics in Umeå and Gävle, Sweden. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and then analysed using Qualitative Content Analysis. Before the interviews, patients first completed the paper-based questionnaires and then the digital version.

Results

The analysis of patients' experiences resulted in an overarching theme: Patients appreciate a holistic approach, thus valuing psychosocial screening, and they particularly favour screening in a digital format. From this theme, two categories emerged:

1. Perceptions about health shape patients' expectations of dental care, and with deeper understanding of the value of psychosocial assessment, patients appreciate a holistic approach that includes psychosocial factors.
2. Digital screening is perceived by patients as a reliable, meaningful and environmentally sustainable method.

Conclusions

In general, the patients appreciated a holistic approach in dentistry and understood the value of psychosocial screening as part of this. From the patients' perspective, digital psychosocial screening was both acceptable and beneficial. The findings support the introduction of digital psychosocial screening into daily dental practice.