Knowledge and Attitudes about HIV/AIDS of Students in H.P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, India

Abstract

The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to assess the knowledge and attitudes towards patients with HIV/AIDS among dental students in H.P. Government Dental College, Shimla, India. In November 2011, a survey was conducted of all the dental students of the college using a forty-ive-item, self-administered questionnaire. The total mean knowledge score was 68.3 percent (good knowledge). The mean knowledge score was statistically higher in the clinical group than in the preclinical group. A majority of the students were aware of the association between HIV and oral candidiasis (89.1 percent), major aphthous (83.2 percent), and Kaposi's sarcoma (68.9 percent). Only 4.9 percent had professional attitudes about treating patients with HIV/ AIDS. Male students had signiicantly fewer negative attitudes and higher positive attitudes than female students. The overall attitude score was signiicantly higher in the clinical group than in the preclinical group. Although a majority of the students had good knowledge, there were some inadequacies in their knowledge; those were more frequently seen in the preclinical students. It is important that dental students, as future dentists, develop not only the necessary practical skills but also knowledge and attitudes that will prepare them to treat patients with HIV/AIDS.

Knowledge and Attitude of Faculty Members Working in Dental Institutions towards the Dental Treatment of Patients with HIV/AIDS

“…In the current study, the knowledge regarding Oral Manifestations associated with the HIV/AIDS was adequate such as Oral candidiasis (95.0%), Oral Hairy leukoplakia (85.0%), Necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (88.0%), Herpes Zoster (81.0%), Kaposi's sarcoma (86.0%), Apthous ulcers (81.0%) and Salivary Gland disease (75.0%) which was similar to the study conducted by Sadeghi and Hakimi among Iranian dental students [ 45 ], in which, 98.1% respondents correctly identified oral candidiasis, 95.8% identified Major Aphthous, and 93.8% identified Kaposi's sarcoma. This was also similar to the study conducted by Crossley [ 38 ] among dentists working within the South Cheshire region, UK in which, 96% correctly identified Kaposi's sarcoma, 87% identified Oral candidiasis, 70% identified Acute ulcerative gingivitis, 73% identified Hairy leukoplakia and 67% identified Herpetic infections and Fotedar et al [ 18 ], more than 73 percent of the dental students in the H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, India knew about the lesions strongly associated with HIV/AIDS such as Kaposi sarcoma, hairy leukoplakia, and oral candidiasis.…”

“…The Questionnaire used for the study was a structured Questionnaire which contained questions pertaining to the knowledge and attitude of the faculty members. The questionnaire was formulated after the review of other questionnaires used in the literature by Aggarwal and Panat [ 17 ], Fotedar et al [ 18 ] and Manz et al [ 19 ] for the assessment of knowledge and attitude among the dental practitioners and dental students. The attitude related questions assessed the willingness of the faculty members towards the dental treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, the potential barriers they perceived and infection control procedures in the treatment of the HIV/AIDS patients.…”

“…The studies for assessing the attitude and knowledge of the dental students regrading the dental treatment of HIV/AIDS patients have been conducted in India by Aggarwal and Panat in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh in 2013 [ 17 ] and Fotedar et al in Shimla in 2012 [ 18 ]. These studies have shown good knowledge score among the dental students (68.3 percent in the study by Fotedar et al [ 18 ] and 78.8 percent by Aggarwal and Panat [ 17 ]). As such, no gender related differences have not been reported in the literature in the studies by Aggarwal and Panat [ 17 ] and Fotedar et al [ 18 ].…”

“…These studies have shown good knowledge score among the dental students (68.3 percent in the study by Fotedar et al [ 18 ] and 78.8 percent by Aggarwal and Panat [ 17 ]). As such, no gender related differences have not been reported in the literature in the studies by Aggarwal and Panat [ 17 ] and Fotedar et al [ 18 ].…”

A study to assess knowledge and attitude towards HIV among students from Mumbai university

“…Our results are similar to a studies done among students from Government College in Chandigarh, India, among medical students from costal Karnataka, India and among dental students from Shimla, India. [5][6][7] Similar results were seen among students from Peshawar University, Pakistan. 8 Knowledge and attitude scores reported in our study are better than those reported in studies from Nepal and UAE.…”