探討COVID-19疫情對於牙科病人就醫行為影響之分析

Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Patients in Seeking Behaviors for Dental Treatment

目的：世界衛生組織於2020年3月宣布嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎(COVID-19)進入全球大流行。隨即2020年1月20日台灣衛生福利部疾病管制署宣布成立「嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎中央流行疫情指揮中心」，全面防範中國大陸新型冠狀病毒肺炎疫情，確保我國防疫安全。本研究指在了解民眾在面對COVID-19疫情的感受與認知程度。了解民眾於COVID-19疫情下，對於牙科就醫的態度與行為的改變。
方法：採回溯性研究設計，使用次級資料分析，研究自2020年6月對來不同院區牙科就醫病人進行問卷發放。
結果：問卷研究結果分析共897人，病患多數為女性(56.2%)，年齡多數為26-50歲之間(51.3%)，教育程度多數為大專／大學(62.4%)、工作多數為無業(82.2%)，多數沒有系統性疾病(83.6%)，經濟狀況多數為5萬元／月以下(46.5%)，就醫院區多數為院外獨立門診部(47.6%)。綜合來說，病人因應疫情做法、就診的滿意度、新冠肺炎影響感受，不同院區就醫行為有明顯差異(多數題目p < 0.05)。
結論：COVID-19疫情對於牙科病人就醫行為影響不大。相對於醫院牙科部，病人對院外獨立門診的防疫措施有信心，也較不會因疫情而取消牙科約診。

Objective: In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. In response, on January 20, 2020, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health and Welfare established the“Central Epidemic Command Center for Coronavirus Disease,”the objective of which was to comprehensively prevent the spread of COVID-19, ensuring the nation’s safety. This study investigated public sentiments and awareness regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and examined changes in people’s attitudes and behaviors toward dental care during this period.
Method: This study employed a retrospective study design and conducted secondary data analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to dental patients in various hospital districts starting in June 2020.
Results: A total of 897 individuals participated in this study. Most of the participants were women (56.2%), aged between 26 and 50 years (51.3%), had a college/university education (62.4%), were unemployed (82.2%), and did not have systemic diseases (83.6%). Almost half had monthly income below 50,000 NTD (46.5%) and received treatment at an independent outpatient clinic outside of a hospital (47.6%). We noted significant differences in patients’medical treatment behavior across different hospital districts in response to the pandemic situation, their satisfaction with medical treatment, and their perception of the impact of COVID-19 (p < 0.05 for most items).
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had little impact on dental patients’medical treatment behavior. Patients exhibited greater confidence in prevention measures implemented by independent outpatient clinics outside of hospitals than they did in those implemented by dental departments in hospitals. Moreover, patients attending a nonhospital clinic were less likely to cancel their dental appointments due to concerns related to the pandemic.