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The effects of waiting time and waiting room environment on dental patients' anxiety
Author(s) -
Coffey P. A. F.,
Giusto Janice
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1834-7819.1983.tb05268.x
Subject(s) - anxiety , medicine , dental treatments , university hospital , dentistry , emergency medicine , psychiatry
A bstract — Estimates of anxiety, using the Spielberger Anxiety Inventory, were obtained from 96 dental patients awaiting treatment at the United Dental Hospital in Sydney and the Westmead Dental Clinical School. Of the 48 patients sampled at each hospital, 24 had been waiting 15 minutes or less, and 24 had been waiting for more than 15 minutes at the time of administering the Inventory. In both hospitals, measured anxiety levels were found to be significantly higher in those patients who had waited for the longer periods. In addition, in both hospitals, anxiety levels were found to be significantly higher in those patients who were attending for the first time than in those patients who were making subsequent visits. No significant differences between the two hospitals were found in the anxiety levels of patients awaiting treatment.