Applicability of SWOT analysis for measuring quality of public oral health services as perceived by adult patients in Finland. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the applicability of SWOT analysis for measuring the quality of public oral health services from the adult client's perspective.


METHODS
Data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed in an earlier study. The study group consisted of all adult (over 18 years of age) clients (n = 256) using public municipal oral health services in Kirkkonummi, Finland, during 2 weeks in 1995. Before treatment, patients filled out a questionnaire that measured the importance of their expectations in different aspects of oral care. After the appointment, they filled out a similar questionnaire that measured the enactment of these expectations in the treatment situation. The response rate was 51%. The difference between subjective importance and enactment of expectations was tested by Wilcoxon's signed rank test. Results were interpreted using both a conventional analysis of "expectation enacted or not" and SWOT analysis, which is used in strategic planning to identify areas of strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T) in an organisation.


RESULTS
In 28 statements out of 35, the two analyses revealed similar interpretations. In most areas the patient-perceived quality of the services was good. Weaknesses were found in the following areas: communicating to patients the causes and risk of developing oral diseases, informing them about different treatment possibilities, and including patients in decision-making when choosing restorative materials.


CONCLUSIONS
SWOT analysis provided more structured interpretation of the results, and can be more easily transferred to development of services.
Toivanen
T
T
Kirkkonummi Oral Health Centre, Finland.
Lahti
S
S
Leino-Kilpi
H
H
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011636:Public Health Dentistry / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires