COVID-19 Awareness Among Dental Professionals in Indonesia

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has claimed thousands of lives worldwide. To enhance knowledge and awareness of COVID-19, considerable online resources have been made available, including aspects related to the dental profession. The study aim was to examine the knowledge, perception, and attitude of dental professionals in Indonesia toward COVID-19. We conducted a survey via a questionnaire created using Google docs and distributed to 632 members of the Indonesian Dental Association in the context of a webinar hosted by the Indonesian Oral Biology Association on first June, 2020. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire consisted of 17 items pertaining to demographic data, knowledge and virus identification, awareness regarding drugs commonly used in dentistry during pandemic and research opportunities. Participants were asked to complete the questionnaire after the webinar by choosing one answer to each question. For the analysis, participants were divided into three groups according to their professional background i.e., employment at national hospital, private hospital, or academic faculty. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and expressed as frequencies and percentages. The chi-square test was used to investigate the association between professional activity and the level of knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes about COVID-19. Results: Sixty percent of the participants correctly identified the pathogenesis of the disease. This knowledge was not associated with their professional affiliation ( p = 0.95). Sixty-seven percentage had comprehensive knowledge about virus detection methods. This knowledge was not associated with their affiliation either ( p = 0.54). Questions regarding drugs of choice, prevention, and the spread of COVID-19 were correctly answered by 89, 96, and 82% of the participants, respectively. Knowledge of these aspects were significantly associated with the professional affiliation ( p < 0.05). All respondents were optimistic regarding research opportunities ( p < 0.01). Respondents from academics were more interested in joining COVID-19-related research projects with governmental institutions ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: Knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 among Indonesian dentists are reasonably good. However, further improvement would be beneficial to manage patients during this pandemic. As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Indonesia, it is important that dentists keep abreast of the updated knowledge on this moving field. Dentist knowledge on infection control should be strengthened through continuous educational programs.

Awareness of COVID-19 among dental practitioners of Multan

“…Fear of this lethal virus prevailed among more than 70% of the participants. The results of this study are consistent with several other studies carried out in different parts of the world [15][16][17] .…”

Perceptions and Preventive Practices Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak and Oral Health Care Perceptions during the Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Saudi Arabia

“…The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak severely impacted the healthcare profession, especially in dentistry [6,8]. This pandemic has changed dental care providers' opinions and opinions of dental care receivers [25][26][27]. Almost 50% of participants from an American study reported delaying their dental appointments due to the COVID-19 pandemic [28].…”

Implementation of COVID-19 Infection Control Measures by German Dentists: A Qualitative Study to Identify Enablers and Barriers

“…The resulting insights allow a deep understanding of barriers and enablers to implementation both on an emotional but also a factual level. Notably, our findings can be triangulated with those of quantitative evaluations (e.g., from surveys), which highlighted that knowledge on COVID-19 increased with time and was generally not the main barrier for ICM in more recent surveys; that the adoption of PPE varied widely and that some PPE, such as face shields and FFP2-masks, were not implemented regularly; that there was uncertainty regarding how to adapt practice infrastructure and organization to reduce infection risks and that, generally, the specific setting was associated with the implementation of measures [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Our study now adds insights as to why all these observations were made.…”

“…While the knowledge on COVID-19 has increased over the course of the pandemic, the majority of dentists have not yet implemented all recommended measures. A few dentists aimed to exceed recommendations or legal minimum standards [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. It is, however, not clear why implementation differs between measures, dentists and settings.…”