Characteristics associated with the satisfaction of users of dental specialty centers

Dental Specialty Centers (CEOs in Portuguese) are health facilities that offer services of medium complexity in oral health, enabling comprehensive care. The objective of this study is to evaluate the sociodemographic and accessibility characteristics that may be associated with the degree of satisfaction of CEO users. A cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary data from the second cycle of the Program to Improve Access and Quality of CEOs (PMAQ-CEO), available in the public domain on the Ministry of Health website, from 2020. The outcome (satisfaction) was measured by the question “In general, the service you receive in this CEO is?” and Poisson regression analysis was performed using a robust estimator. In total, 10,391 users and 1,042 CEOs were interviewed. More than half of the participants (58.4%) rated the CEO’s service as very good, and 38.2% as “good.” In the final model, greater satisfaction with the CEO was associated (p<0.05) with White individuals who received more than one minimum wage, who did not reside in the same municipality where the establishment operated, who did not want to change the CEO, and with hours of operation compatible with the demands of users. A high percentage of users were satisfied with Brazilian CEOs’ services. By analyzing the literature and data from the previous cycle of the PMAQ-CEO, an improvement in service delivery can be seen, which may have influenced user satisfaction.

Descriptors:
Patient Satisfaction; Dental Health Services; Secondary Care; Quality of Health Care