Objectives: This study aimed to explore the dental staff knowledge of simulated patient methodology and support for its use to investigate dental staffs' triaging ability.
Material and methods: Staff at dental practices in Western Australia were invited to participate in a cross-sectional online questionnaire, consisting of demographic questions, questions on triaging, and knowledge of simulated patient methodology. Descriptive and parametric tests were undertaken for quantitative data; qualitative responses were thematically analyzed.
Results: Of the 100 participants, most were female (71%), aged 25-39 years (57%), dentists (46%), and worked in private practices (60%). While 82% of participants triaged dental appointment enquiries, only 26% had heard of simulated patient studies. The majority (66%) of participants spent 1-5 min when triaging appointments and less than half (29%) asked about medical history, aggravating or alleviating factors. Although there was a general positive attitude toward use of simulated patient methodology to investigate practice, some concerns were identified.
Conclusions: The findings of our exploratory study suggests that there may be a potential for utilizing simulated patient studies to improve the care of patients by dental receptionists in general dental practices.
Keywords: Western Australia; dental practices; dental staff; simulated patient methodology.
© 2024 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.