Key Points
-
Future research in primary care should be focused on topics primary care practitioners feel of use to their clinical practice.
-
Funding and protected time is necessary for primary care dental practitioners to complete research.
-
There is a need for collaborative working between academic institutions and primary care dentists.
Abstract
Aims To determine the attitudes and opinions of dentists undertaking research in primary care dental practices, about the value of research in primary care.
Method The data were collected during a face-to-face interview utilising a schedule of open and closed questions, which were used to guide the interview.
Results Twenty-seven of the 40 primary care dentists (67.5%) who had participated in a five-year primary care clinical trial completed the interview. All the respondents believed that primary care research was important and should be of relevance to their practice, but only 12 (44%) thought it was important they carried out this research. The majority (96%) of respondents felt it did not pay financially to do research as a primary care practitioner and 12 (44%) thought research in primary care was too time consuming, but 25 (92%) were prepared to get involved in a primary care research group. Five (56%) salaried service (SS) practitioners and 14 (78%) general dental services (GDS) dentists felt they did not have enough experience, skills or knowledge to conduct their own research. Significantly more salaried dentists compared with GDS dentists felt adequately supported to do primary care research.
Conclusion Future research in primary care should be focused on topics primary care practitioners feel of use to their clinical practice. A method of funding practitioners and providing time for them to complete research away from their clinical duties is necessary. There is a need for collaborative working with an academic institution, which can provide training and academic support for practitioners.
Similar content being viewed by others
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
References
Clarkson J. Experience of clinical trials in general dental practice. Adv Dent Res 2005; 18: 39–41.
Crawford F. Clinical trials in dental primary care: what research methods have been used to produce reliable evidence? Br Dent J 2005; 199: 155–160.
Mant D. Research and development in primary care. National working group report. London: Department of Health, 1997.
Wilson S, Delaney B C, Roalfe A et al. Randomised controlled trials in primary care: case study. BMJ 2000; 321: 24–27
Directive 2001/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001, on the approximation of the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions of the member states relating to the implementation of good clinical practice in the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use. Official Journal European Communities 2001; May 1: L121/44.
Kay E, Ward N, Locker D. A general dental practice research network – philosophy, activities and participant views. Br Dent J 2003; 194: 545–549.
Blinkhorn A S, Clarkson J E, Craven R, Holloway P J, Worthington H V. An evaluation of a training programme in primary care research for general dental practitioners. Br Dent J 2000; 188: 333–336.
Palmer N, Grievson B. An investigation into Merseyside general dental practitioners' interest in primary care research, their views on research and their training needs. Primary Dent Care 2005; 12: 145–149.
Clarkson J E. Getting research into clinical practice – barriers and solutions. Caries Res 2004; 38: 321–324.
Burke F M, O'Mullane D. Oral research in primary care. Adv Dent Res 2005; 18: 37–38.
Hopkins L M, Eaton K A. Research in general dental practice – what is involved? Part 1: general considerations. Primary Dent Care 1996; 3: 71–74.
Hichens L P, Sandy J R, Rowland H N et al. Practical aspects to undertaking research in the primary care setting: experience from two studies. J Orthod 2005; 32: 262–268.
Innes N P T, Evans D, Clarkson J, Foley J. Obtaining an evidence base for clinical dentistry through clinical trials. Primary Dent Care 2005; 12: 91–96.
Foy R, Parry J, McAvoy B. Clinical trials in primary care: targeted payments for trials might help improve recruitment and quality. BMJ 1998; 317: 1168–1169.
Ward J. General practitioners' experience of research. Fam Pract 1994; 11: 418–423.
Jones C S, Billington R W, Pearson G J. The advantages and disadvantages of running a clinical trial in general practices. Br Dent J 2004; 197: 311–313.
Department of Health. National programme for primary dental care research and development. Reflection and moving forward. London: Department of Health, 2004.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank those primary care dentists who were involved in the pilot study and the trial, Mrs Christine Mackie who undertook the interviews and Professor Helen Worthington for her advice regarding data analysis. This study was funded by the National Primary Dental Care R&D Programme, reference number RDO/90/22.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hopper, L., Aspinall, A., Mackie, I. et al. The views of dentists on their participation in a primary care-based research trial. Br Dent J 205, E4 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2008.584
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2008.584
This article is cited by
-
Behavioural intervention to promote the uptake of planned care in urgent dental care attenders: study protocol for the RETURN randomised controlled trial
Trials (2022)
-
Using Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to understand implementation of a pragmatic clinical trial in Public Dental Service in Norway
BMC Health Services Research (2021)
-
Participant recruitment to FiCTION, a primary dental care trial – survey of facilitators and barriers
British Dental Journal (2014)
-
Patient perceptions regarding benefits of single visit scale and polish: a randomised controlled trial
BMC Oral Health (2013)
-
Clinical outcomes of Single-Visit oral Prophylaxis: A practice-based randomised controlled trial
BMC Oral Health (2011)
