title: Patients' Perceptions of Endodontic Treatment as Part of Public Health Services: A Qualitative Study.
abstract: Evaluations by patients constitute an important part of the process of improving health services. This study examined patients' perceptions of secondary dental care in three cities in Minas Gerais, Brazil based on the endodontic treatment received. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews (addressing access, treatment and results) and a field diary (direct observations and report of professionals). The interviews were audiotaped, fully transcribed, and analyzed using content analysis. Two principal themes were identified: access to service and quality of service. The difficulties in accessing service were associated with the insufficient number of professionals to meet the high demand for endodontic treatment, problems in referring from primary to secondary care and geographic barriers. Service quality was related to the presence/absence of pain and anxiety that patients experienced, the time and number of sessions required to complete treatment, how patients were treated by dentists, and whether those patients would recommend the service to other patients. Access to endodontic treatment was a problem emphasized by users, and satisfaction with the quality of the service was more related to how patients were treated than to the technical competence of the dentist.
authors.affiliation: Departament of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270 901, Brazil. leomelgaco@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: José Leonardo Barbosa
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Melgaço-Costa
authors.affiliation: Departament of Social and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270 901, Brazil. r.c.martins@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Renata Castro
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Departament of Social and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270 901, Brazil. efigeniaf@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Efigênia Ferreira
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Departament of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270 901, Brazil. sobrinho.bhz@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Antônio Paulino Ribeiro
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Sobrinho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D004708:Endodontics / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: endodontic; health care quality, access and evaluation; patient satisfaction; secondary care