Open Collections

Ho, Mayhay

University of British Columbia

The COVID-19 pandemic reduced in-person (IP) visit capacity at the B.C. Children’s Hospital (BCCH) due to public health guidelines. Virtual health (VH) consultations were implemented for children who require full mouth dental rehabilitation under general anaesthesia (GA). Objectives: 1. Compare primary caregiver satisfaction with IP vs. VH consultations 2. Evaluate the VH format for improvements 3. Determine whether VH consultations should continue Methods: Participants were primary caregivers of children who had a dental consultation at BCCH from January 2021 to July 2023. Caregivers were divided into IP and VH groups, then emailed a link to the anonymous survey which included Demographic, inquires Caregiver Satisfaction, Caregiver Perception, and Telehealth Usability Questionnaires. Results: We collected 217 responses (21.2% response rate). VH families (N=47) were more often from rural settings compared to IP families (N=170). Caregiver satisfaction was high with no statistically significant differences in responses to the satisfaction questionnaire between the two groups except for the desire to use VH in the future. Once a family had used VH, they were likely to use this format again (89.3%). Significantly more VH families reported ease of scheduling, time savings, and cost savings as benefits compared to the IP group. The barriers to IP visits were parking, arranging transport, and arranging childcare. The barriers to VH visits were difficulty taking intraoral photos and the concern that the dentist is unable to complete a thorough exam. The VH platform used was rated highly for usability in all 10 questions. The common issue raised by VH and IP caregivers was the extremely long waiting time for treatment. Conclusions: The format of both IP and VH consultations was well-accepted by families. At BCCH, VH visits are continuing to the present day. Practical changes will be made to improve privacy, reduce stress during the visit, and to decrease waiting times. Significance: The imposition of VH to patient care at BCCH was not planned but VH is an important alterative to IP visits. VH should continue to be offered especially for children with advanced special needs and those who live in remote locations.

Text

2024-07-17

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88655

Craniofacial Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/