A METHOD FOR DENTAL-CARE ACTIVITIES TIME STUDY USING OBSERVER MONITORED COUNTING OF FREQUENCIES

In dentistry, there is a need for better understanding of the distribu tion of the time spent on different activities at dental clinics. In o rder to investigate these resource aspects, both for the total time an d for various categories of personnel and/or patients in dental clinic s at the Public Dental Service (PD), Goteborg, Sweden, a time study me thod was used. The present study reports on the development of the PD' s time study method (TSM) and analyses its functionality. The TSM, bas ed on formulated criteria, used a method for an observer-monitored cou nting of frequencies. Specially trained observers registered the sampl ed observations for each professional, using a separate code list for each personnel group to which the professional belonged. The observer registered the on-going activity, not the duration of the procedure. E ach observer followed several persons working in separated areas of th e dental clinic. In 1989, the TSM was tested with the purpose of obtai ning mean time values for dental care activities in the PD clinics per forming general dental care. This study comprised all personnel catego ries in the clinic teams. Clinics were randomly selected and stratifie d according to the amount of dentistry for children in relation to the total time for dental care, reported as the parameter ''dentist hours ''. Eight out of a total of 36 clinics were randomized, two from each strata. In the comprehensive study four observation categories were co nserned: the working tasks for the clinic personnel (the profession st udy), how the different personnel categories worked together when prov iding dental care (the clinic study), the different kinds of dental tr eatment carried out by the dentists, the dental hygienists and the den tal assistants, (the dental care study) and the search for the dental care profiles for the different groups of patients (the patient study) . It is suggested that the TSM is a useful tool assessing dental care and can be used for studying other spheres of dental activity than in general dental care as well as in corresponding areas in health and so cial welfare.