Exploring the need for an oral health passport

Aim or Purpose: To establish the need for an oral health passport and explore the features that feed the local need in a time where the utilization of digital personal health records is considered appropriate and is expected to further enhance primary care's quality-of-service delivery Materials and Methods: In-depth semi-structured online interview were conducted with twenty-three potential users representing patients, oral health care providers, dental students and clinical and non-clinical support staff from UiTM dental Centre, Malaysia. The participants were asked regarding awareness of oral health, the need for oral health records accessibility via mobile application, the features required in an oral health based on user perception. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed using the software NVivo. Results: All respondents were aware that sharing of oral health records is beneficial while 69.57% of respondents expressed positive perception regarding sharing of oral health records via mobile apps. Seven main themes emerged regarding the need for an oral health app; empowerment, improve quality of care, accessibility, ease communication, anxiety reduction, efficiency, technology. Features of a mobile oral health application that were identified as relevant were information on demographic, medical condition, oral health condition, oral health education, support management. Conclusions: This qualitative research with a diverse pool of participants indicates a need for oral health apps with a variety of features ranging from personal oral health information to prevention and healthcare delivery management. The findings provide researchers, app designers, and oral health care providers insights on how to develop oral health apps from the users’ perspective