Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37973523›Full record

ArticleInternational dental journal2024

Infection Concerns and Economic Burden: Dentists' Cancellations During COVID-19.

Morena Santamaria, Arno Stöcker, Jan Hoffmann, Laura Mause, Tim Ohnhäuser, Nadine Scholten

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International dental journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Morena SantamariaUniversity of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, Chair of Health Services Research, Cologne, Germany.
Arno StöckerUniversity of Cologne, Faculty of Human Sciences & Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, Chair for Quality Development in Rehabilitation, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: arno.stoecker@uk-koeln.de.
Jan HoffmannUniversity of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, Chair of Health Services Research, Cologne, Germany.
Laura MauseUniversity of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, Chair of Health Services Research, Cologne, Germany.
Tim OhnhäuserUniversity of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, Chair of Health Services Research, Cologne, Germany.
Nadine ScholtenUniversity of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, Chair of Health Services Research, Cologne, Germany.
University of Cologne · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, dental appointments were cancelled or postponed by both patients and dentists. This study investigated the associations between German dentists' concerns on cross infection and their emotional burden due to personal economic impact on dentist-initiated appointment cancellations.

methodsData were collected using an anonymous cross-sectional online survey of outpatient physicians in Germany from March through April 2020. Dental treatments were divided into 3 treatment categories (plannable treatments, acute treatments without COVID-19-like symptoms, and acute treatments with COVID-19-like symptoms). Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regression models were performed.

resultsA sample of 269 self-employed dentists was considered. Cancellations of prophylaxis appointments were reported by 82% of dentists, whilst 49% reported cancellations of appointments for acute complaints with simultaneous patient-side COVID-19-like symptoms. Further, 58% of respondents stated high or very high concerns about COVID-19 self-infection; 81% stated to be emotionally burdened by the personal economic impact. Dentists' concern of infecting themselves significantly decreased the likelihood of maintaining appointments, with odds ratios of 0.635 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.426 to 0.932) for plannable treatments and 0.587 (95% CI, 0.367 to 0.916) for treatments of patients with acute complaints and simultaneous COVID-19-like symptoms. In addition, there was a significant negative association between dentists who reported emotional distress due to personal economic impact and the likelihood to maintain appointments, with odds ratios of 0.291 (95% CI, 0.123 to 0.695) for plannable treatments and 0.231 (95% CI, 0.053; 0.706) for treatments of patients without acute complaints and simultaneous COVID-19-like symptoms.

conclusionDentists' fear of infecting themselves with COVID-19 played a role in terms of practice-related appointment cancellations. Dentists differentiated their appointment cancellations according to different treatment categories and patient needs. If dental care is to be maintained in pandemic times, physicians' personal factors such as concerns about infection and perceived pandemic-related personal economic impact need to be considered.

Indexed as

COVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesDentistsFinancial StressHumansPandemicsSurveys and QuestionnairesAppointment cancellationsCOVID-19DentistryEconomic burdenFear of infectionOutpatient

Identifiers

PMID37973523
PMCPMC10988247
OpenAlexW4388672821

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.