Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Facilitators and barriers to the adoption of teledentistry in Saudi Arabia from the care providers' perspectives. A systematic review(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Hakami, Amjad; Mohan, SarikaBackground: Teledentistry has emerged as a tool that holds great potential to enhance access, efficiency, and continuity of oral healthcare delivery. In Saudi Arabia, its adoption is important in the context of the health transformation programme and Vision 2030, in addition to the high prevalence of dental caries, especially among schoolchildren. Despite this potential, adoption is still limited. In this context, there is a need to systematically assess the factors influencing its adoption from the care providers’ perspectives. Objectives: This review aimed to systematically identify the facilitators and barriers to the adoption of teledentistry in Saudi Arabia, with the focus on the perception of dental care providers and dental students. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 with narrative synthesis based on SWiM guidelines. PubMed, SCOPUS, Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched, covering publications up to 4th July 2025. The PICO framework was used to define the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the CASP checklist was used to assess study quality. Data were synthesised using vote counting by direction of effect, categorising findings into facilitators and barriers. Results: After screening 156 records, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Study quality ranged from 7-11/11 based on the CASP checklist for cross-sectional studies. Key findings included facilitators such as improved access, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, communication and referral enhancements, educational benefits, and positive perception of technology. The key barriers were limited awareness and training, infrastructure and equipment reliability, privacy and data security, cost and financial issues, diagnostic accuracy, and the preference for in-person meetings. Conclusion: Teledentistry holds great potential, but its adoption is still limited in Saudi Arabia. Addressing the challenges that hinder adoption and empowering the facilitators that support it is important to ensure successful adoption. Improving infrastructure, enhancing training and integration into dental curricula, and strengthening regulatory frameworks are essential to ensure equitable adoption.12 0Item Restricted PATIENT’S VIEWS ON ACCESS TO DENTAL CARE: A SERVICE EVALUATION TO INFORM HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING AT KING'S COLLEGE DENTAL HOSPITAL(King's College London, 2024-08) Alblayhd, Maysam; Gallagher, JenniferAim: To explore the views of patients who attend King’s College Dental Hospital on the current hospital service and accessibility to hospital dental services in Southeast London. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a consecutive sample of patients (including parents of patients) over 13 weeks (April-July 2024). The study used a validated self-administered questionnaire with five domains informed by the Penchansky and Thomas model of access. The first domain examined overall satisfaction, the second examined accessibility, the third domain was on the availability of services, the fourth investigated accommodation, and the fifth collected demographic information, and additional comments from the participants. The questionnaire was piloted and tested for content validity. This service evaluation study has been approved by the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust audit and service evaluation team (Reference: DENT-M-01-23). Results: In total, 230 patients responded to the survey, of which 56% were female and 57% were adults (25-74 years old). The study found high overall satisfaction with the hospital’s services, with particular appreciation for staff and students professionalism and friendliness. However, issues related to accessibility, such as long travel times and inadequate physical infrastructure, were identified as areas needing improvement. While most patients reported satisfaction with the availability of services, concerns were noted regarding appointment scheduling and waiting times. Demographic analysis revealed variations in satisfaction levels across different groups, highlighting the need for targeted improvements in service delivery, especially regarding waiting time. Conclusion: The findings suggest that while King’s College Dental Hospital generally receives a high satisfaction rate. There are significant areas for enhancement, particularly in accessibility and accommodation. Addressing these issues could improve the overall quality of care. Future efforts should focus on reducing travel-related barriers, optimising appointment management, and addressing infrastructure concerns to better meet patient needs and expectations.24 0