Knowledge of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among dental surgeons of Nepal: a nationwide study

Abstract

Background COVID-19 is an emerging respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus. There is not much evidence assessing the knowledge of dental surgeons regarding COVID-19. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of COVID-19 among dental surgeons of Nepal. Methods A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among registered dental surgeons of Nepal. Ethical approval was obtained. Consent was taken, and knowledge on COVID-19 was assessed via a pre-tested structured questionnaire using Google form. The form was emailed to the participants. Descriptive analysis was performed using frequency, percentage, median and inter-quartile range. Man-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out to see the difference in knowledge score. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Total 227 dental surgeons responded to the questionnaire (male: 46.4%; female: 53.7%). Almost two-third (65.2%) of the respondents were B.D.S. (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) graduates. Only 29.1% worked in the government hospitals. 17.6% were currently involved in COVID-19 management. Of the participants, 87.7% knew about the condition of the requirement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) but only 29.1% could correctly answer the framed question for PPE. The median knowledge score calculated was 14.0 (8.0–18.0). The bivariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference in knowledge score among the age group ≥30 years and < 30 years (p = 0.013); M.D.S. (Master of Dental Surgery) graduate and B.D.S. graduate (0.041); dental surgeons of government healthcare facilities and other healthcare facilities (p < 0.001); dental surgeons of COVID-19 centers and non-COVID-19 centers (0.002). Conclusion The dental surgeons of Nepal have a good knowledge of COVID-19, and they can be utilized for assisting in the management of COVID-19 cases in Nepal.

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.…”

Clinical Experience, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of Turkish Pediatric Dentists during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Considering the present study, the vast majority of pediatric dentists had a good level of knowledge about COVID-19 disease. Although questions evaluating the knowledge level of dentists might be different among studies, previous studies have also found that dentists have a good knowledge level as well [11,12,28,30,34,50]. The results of this study showed that the knowledge level of dentists about COVID-19 is sufficient, but it is recommended that information should be continuously updated in the following periods according to the course of the disease, in order to optimize the management of COVID-19.…”

“…The present study showed that 55% of all participants attended a webinar on COVID-19. Previous studies [2,11,13,20,[27][28][29][30][31][32] showed the various rates of attendance of dentists at an education program on COVID-19. Contrary to these results, some researchers reported insufficient training [12,14,33,34].…”

An Impact of COVID-19 On Dental and Oral Health Care Workers: An Online Survey in Nepal

“…Similarly, during this crisis, more doubt and disagreement between professional have been noticed, mainly due to the level of knowledge and perceptions of DOHCWs toward COVID-19 remain unclear leading di cult for them to go further in crisis. Knowledge of disease may in uence clinicians' attitudes and practices, and incorrect attitudes and practices directly increase the risk of infection [53,54]. Knowledge about clinical features, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management help clinicians to recognize and handle COVID-19 patients, identify the high-risk dental procedure.…”