Concept maps are a useful instrument for understanding the relationships between specific ideas or developing a more in-depth knowledge of concepts. In our case, the concept map focused on the notion that interpersonal relations between care providers and patients contribute to oral health outcomes. The concept map produced as a result of research on the topic helped to answer multiple questions by highlighting the components of provider-patient interpersonal relationships, the rationale for their influence on oral health outcomes, and other ideas.
First of all, the concept map helped to structure knowledge better by separating ideas by different components of interpersonal relationships. In scholarly literature, these components are usually taken as part of a whole. However, the concept map showed that the elements of communication, post-operative care, and treatment option provision are distinct from one another. This, in turn, helped to clarify how each of them helps to improve oral health outcomes.
For example, by providing multiple treatment options with pros and cons of each alternative examined, care providers respond to the needs of patients who cannot afford specific treatments while also offering the most suitable care. By maintaining constant verbal and non-verbal communication, care providers can gather valuable information from patients to improve their confidence while also building trust and showing support. Finally, post-operative care enhances treatment success and assists in the formation of long-lasting patient-provider relationships. These benefit both the patient and their care provider because patients will have better oral health outcomes and will be more likely to recommend their provider to a friend.
Secondly, the concept map also helped to understand how the effect of each component of the patient-provider relationship is achieved. This is very important because it motivates providers to take the right steps to enhance the relationship and treatment outcomes.
For example, verbal communication includes patient teach-back, simple wording, and open-ended questions. While patient teach-back and simple wording contribute to patient outcomes directly, open-ended questions do so by encouraging patients to open up and share information with their care providers. By taking this information into account and incorporating it into their decision-making processes, providers can increase patient confidence and improve treatment outcomes. In a similar manner, different aspects of post-operative care contribute to patient health outcomes both directly and indirectly.
On the one hand, they prolong treatment results, thus having a direct influence on the patient’s oral health outcomes. On the other hand, they assist in the formation of lasting therapeutic relationships, making patients more likely to recommend the dentist to their friends or family members. Because the dentist will have more patients as a result, they will be more experienced and motivated to deliver high-quality care. Consequently, patient outcomes will become even better over time.
Finally, the concept map acts as a visual aid for mapping and remembering concepts and the relationships between them. Because the ideas are represented using short, simple phrases or individual words, and arrows are used to identify the connections between them, it becomes easier to remember the mechanism by which interpersonal relationships contribute to oral health outcomes. By helping scholars and care providers to memorize the concepts and their relationships, the concept map improves the likelihood of them applying this knowledge in practice.
On the whole, the experience of constructing a concept map was highly beneficial and provided in-depth insight into the topic. The structure of the concept map helped to examine each component of the patient-provider relationship in great detail, thus supporting us in developing expertise on the issue. Additionally, the concept map proved to be useful for remembering the concepts and the relationships between them. With improved knowledge on the topic, it is more likely that we will apply it in dental practice to enhance patient relationships and oral health outcomes.