Patients' satisfaction with oral health care provided at the University Dental clinic in Tanzania: A cross-sectional analytical study.

Abstract

Patients' satisfaction with health services is considered an essential element for hospital setup as it measures its performance and quality of care. Thus, evaluation of patients' satisfaction has become a basic concern of clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the satisfaction of patients with the oral health care provided at the University Dental Clinic in Tanzania. This analytical cross-sectional study targeted all adult patients who sought treatment at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) dental clinic, between December 2019 and August 2020. It utilized a Dental Satisfaction Questionnaire (DSQ) to collect relevant information for this study. A total of 302 patients participated in this study with male to female ratio of 1:1.54. Their mean age was 35.95 ± (SD = 14.19) years. The mean scores for various domains of satisfaction were; 9.42 ± 2.09 for pain management, 8.11 ± 2.84 for the quality of services, 16.08 ± 2.27 for the cost of service, 7.49 ± 1.94 for satisfaction with accessibility/convenience, and 8.93 ± 2.17 for satisfaction with access to care. The overall mean satisfaction score was 50.03 ± 6.53. Only the education level of the participant was significantly associated with overall satisfaction, with the odds of participants with an education level of less than college, being satisfied with dental service 38% more than those with a college education. Most of the participants had moderate overall satisfaction with the oral health care provided at the University dental clinic. The level of satisfaction was not determined by the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. Patients with oral health problems and staff of the university dental clinic were consulted on the design, delivery, and reporting of the research.