Identified factors (bold typeface) and responses (n=1177) to items of the questionnaire concerning dentists’ opinions about guidelines and the loading for each individual item
| Question: “Clinical practice guidelines are important for …” | Loading | Important (%) | Neither important nor unimportant (%) | Don’t know (%) | Not important (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution of guidelines to quality of care (α=0.77) | |||||
| • Monitoring the quality of dental care | 0.66 | 55.9 | 26.9 | 6.7 | 10.5 |
| • Promoting expertise and continuing dental education | 0.79 | 55.0 | 29.2 | 6.1 | 9.7 |
| • Making complex treatment decisions in special situations | 0.66 | 51.1 | 24.3 | 9.5 | 15.1 |
| • Gathering knowledge | 0.78 | 47.8 | 30.0 | 4.7 | 17.5 |
| • Communication with patients | 0.59 | 42.0 | 33.6 | 6.1 | 18.3 |
| Contribution of guidelines to professional collaboration (α=0.64) | |||||
| • Making agreements in group practice | 0.70 | 61.5 | 20.9 | 10.2 | 7.4 |
| • Peer review/practice visitation | 0.69 | 45.6 | 29.7 | 9.1 | 15.6 |
| • Cooperation with other healthcare providers | 0.58 | 40.0 | 32.5 | 9.3 | 18.2 |
| • Dealing with insurance companies | 0.66 | 38.0 | 23.5 | 13.5 | 25.0 |