Signalling waiting times to citizens on public oral healthcare providers’ websites

Figures & data

Figure 1. The theoretical framework derived from agency [2, 3] and signalling [31] theories.

Table 1. The citizen survey questions translated into English.

Question	Answer options
Importance of waiting time as an attribute
Prioritize the following six criteria in the choice of a dentist for non-urgent care. Mark the main criterion with the number 1, the second most important with the number 2, etc. (Criteria in alphabetical order in Finnish)	Client fee Competence of a dentist Interaction skills Waiting time Opening hours Location
In my opinion, short waiting times for non-urgent care are important when choosing a dentist.	Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
I can visit any dentist for non-urgent care if the waiting time is short.	Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
Sources used for screening
When choosing a dentist, I screen information from 1. My relatives, acquaintances, or friends 2. Social media 3. Public service providers’ websites 4. Private service providers’ websites	Never Rarely Sometimes Often Almost always
I don’t screen any information from anywhere when choosing a dentist, as I book an appointment with the dentist whom I have earlier visited.	Totally disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Totally agree
Waiting times on public service providers’ websites
I know that this information is reported on the websites of public service providers.	Yes No (an automatically skipping of the following question)
I have visited these websites.	Yes No
I would screen this waiting time information on the Internet for decision-making when choosing a dentist.	Never Rarely Sometimes Often Almost always
I would use this waiting time information on the Internet to assess whether I got a dentist appointment time in line with reported waiting times.	Never Rarely Sometimes Often Almost always
In my opinion, reporting waiting times for dental care on the websites of public service providers is useful.	Yes No
In my opinion, no-one is interested in the information on waiting times for dental care reported on the Internet.	Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree
Access to the websites
I have the opportunity to use the Internet at home.	Yes No
On a scale from 1 to 7, how would you assess your digital competence?	1 (Very poor) − 2–3–4–5–6–7 (Very good)
I search for health and disease information on the Internet.	Never or very rarely A couple of times a year About once a month About once a week Several times a week
I search for information on health services on the  Internet.	Never or very rarely A couple of times a year About once a month About once a week Several times a week
I use different health applications, such as  MyKanta, on the Internet.	Never or very rarely A couple of times a year About once a month About once a week Several times a week

Table 2. The manager survey questions translated into English.

Question	Answer options
Signalling waiting times to citizens
What percentage of the citizen survey respondents know about waiting time signalling on the websites? My estimate is:	0–100%
What percentage of the citizen survey respondents consider waiting time signalling as useful? My estimate is:	0–100%
In my opinion, signalling waiting times for dental care on the websites is useful for citizens.	Yes No
Should we signal on the websites on the average durations of the different dental treatment episodes we provide in our organization?	Yes No
Processing waiting time information
How is the information on waiting times for accessing non-urgent dental care processed to be signalled on the website of your organization?	Calculated automatically with the electronic patient information system Calculated manually using T1, the first available non-on-call dentist appointment time Calculated manually using T3, the third next available non-on-call dentist appointment time Estimated by speculation I don’t know how the information is processed
The electronic patient information system should automatically process the necessary information on waiting times for access to non-urgent dental care.	Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

Figure 2. The priority of waiting time among providers’ attributes in citizens’ choices of a dentist for non-urgent care (n = 393).

Table 3. The importance of short waiting times for non-urgent dental care by the citizen respondents’ personal information.

Personal information	N	Mean^a	Median^a	Std. deviation^a	Minimum^a	Maximum^a
Age
20–29	27	4.0	4	1.3	1	5
30–39	66	4.2	5	1.0	2	5
40–49	101	4.0	4	1.1	1	5
50–59	90	4.2	4	1.1	1	5
60–69	86	4.0	4	1.0	1	5
70–	14	3.4	3	1.2	2	5
Total	384	4.1	4	1.1	1	5
Gender
Man	47	4.0	4	1.1	2	5
Woman	340	4.1	4	1.1	1	5
Other	3	4.7	5	.6	4	5
Total	390	4.1	4	1.1	1	5
Education^b
A	14	3.6	4	1.3	1	5
B	119	4.2	4	1.1	1	5
C	178	4.0	4	1.1	1	5
D	81	4.0	4	1.1	1	5
Total	392	4.1	4	1.1	1	5
ServProvider^c
Only pub	210	4.0	4	1.1	1	5
Mainly pub	98	4.1	4	1.1	1	5
Pub and priv	20	4.3	4.5	.9	2	5
Mainly priv	37	4.2	5	1.1	1	5
Only priv	27	4.0	4	1.1	2	5
Total	392	4.1	4	1.1	1	5
Visits
Regular	255	4.0	4	1.1	1	5
Irregular	111	4.2	5	1.1	1	5
Toothache	26	3.8	4	1.4	1	5
Total	392	4.1	4	1.1	1	5

^aImportance measured using a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree).

^b(A) Elementary or comprehensive school, (B) A vocational education or matriculation examination, (C) A bachelor’s degree or college-level education, (D) A master’s degree.

^cPub = Public sector service provider, Priv = Private sector service provider.

Table 4. Waiting time indicators signalled on the websites of the 15 public primary oral healthcare providers on 15.9.2021.

Provider	Waiting time	Release date
A	About four months	No date
B^a	82, 94, 114 days	19 July 2021
C	Target five months	No date
D^a	61, 79 24 h	May 2021
E	104 days	2 August 2021
F^a	1½, 1½, 3, 3, 3½ months	Week 22
G	34 weekdays	1 September 2021
H	Two–three months	No date
I	75 24 h	1 September 2021
J	About six months	September 2021
K	About four months	18 June 2021
L	Three months	April 2021
M	67 calendar days	August 2021
N^a	62, 62, 75, 98 24 h	No date
O	93 weekdays	August 2021

^aWaiting times signalled by units.

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Data availability statement

According to the privacy policy, the researcher can process the survey data for the time required for her thesis. During the time, the data will not be transferred outside the University of Turku. After that, the data without the credentials is disclosed to the Finnish Social Science Data Archive without conditions for the use of the disclosed materials.