Readiness for Teledentistry: Validation of a Tool for Oral Health Professionals.
We validated a survey tool to test the readiness of oral health professionals for teledentistry (TD). The survey tool, the University of Calgary Health Telematics Unit's Practitioner Readiness Assessment Tool (PRAT) gathered information about the participants' beliefs, attitudes and readiness for TD before and after a teledentistry training program developed for a rural state in the Mid-Western United States. Ninety-three dental students, oral health and other health professionals participated in the TD training program and responded to the survey. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to assess statistical differences in the change in the readiness rating before and after the training. Principal Components Analysis identified a three factor structure for the PRAT tool: Attitudes/ Attributes of Personnel; Motivation to Change and Institutional Resources. Overall, the evaluation demonstrated a positive change in all trainees' attitudes following the training sessions, with the majority of trainees acknowledging a positive impact of the training on their readiness for teledentistry.
Department of Health Services Research & Administration, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 984350 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-4350, USA. pnayar@unmc.edu.|Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA. pnayar@unmc.edu.
Preethy
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5382-1027
P
Nayar
Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Creighton University, Creighton, USA.
Kimberly K
KK
McFarland
Department of Health Services Research & Administration, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 984350 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-4350, USA.
Aastha
A
Chandak
Department of Health Services Research & Administration, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 984350 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-4350, USA.
Niodita
N
Gupta
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D003726:Dental Assistants / Q000523:psychology; D003813:Dentistry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology; D004498:Education, Dental, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D009042:Motivation; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D014584:User-Computer Interface
Access to oral health care; Readiness; Survey; Teledentistry