scholarly journals Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Dental Patients Toward Cross-Infection and Economic Implications in View of Covid-19: An Online Survey

2020 ◽  
pp. 232020682097225
Author(s):  
Rhythm Bains ◽  
Aseem P. Tikku ◽  
Vivek Kumar Bains ◽  
Promila Verma

Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the patients regarding cross-infection in dental clinics in view of COVID-19, and its economic implications. Materials and Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional online survey done using Google Forms tool which was shared amongst 501 participants via e-mail and various social media platforms. It consisted of 42 structured questions regarding sociodemographics (seven questions), knowledge of COVID-19 (seven questions), practices regarding COVID-19 preventive methods (five questions), knowledge regarding cross-infection in dental clinics (nine questions), attitudes toward infection in dental clinics, and increased cost of treatment due to added disinfection protocols (14 questions). All the associations were tested using the chi-square test and with the P-value set at <.05. The significance level was taken as α = 0.05; therefore, a difference or association with P-value <.05 was considered statistically significant. The linear regression model was used to relate demographics with the knowledge attitude practices items, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation between knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Results: A total of 478 responses were assessed. 92.2% of the respondents had high knowledge regarding COVID-19, and only 48.1% had a high knowledge score regarding infection control in dental clinics. The respondents exhibited high scores for practice related to COVID-19 (83.9%) and attitude toward infection control in dental clinics (91.9%). Using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, knowledge attitude practices variables showed a significant correlation amongst each other ( P < .001). Only 60% responded that extra infection control protocols will increase the treatment charges, and approximately 30% responded that they will not pay or were not sure of paying the extra charges. The proportion of respondents who were agreeing about paying the increase cost were independent of age ( P = .226), gender ( P = .328), education ( P = .085), and profession ( P = .121). Conclusion: A significant percentage of patients today have a lot of knowledge of COVID-19. Also, they have higher expectations than before from their dental health care providers regarding infection control.

Author(s):  
Gyandas G. Wadhwani ◽  
Leanne Scott ◽  
Chantelle Nienhuis ◽  
Laura Chella ◽  
Aditi Chadha ◽  
...  

Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread rapidly inviting unprecedented measures globally. Citizen’s adherence to jurisdiction is affected by their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards the disease.Methods: A cross-sectional survey study among a convenient sample of the general public aged 18 years or more and resident in South Africa was conducted through a self-designed online KAP survey questionnaire during the first few weeks of the South African lockdown to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices about COVID-19. A p value of <0.05 (two tailed) was taken to be statistically significant.Results: A total of 885 respondents completed the survey, majority of which were females who identified COVID-19 as a challenge to health and society and agreed with the strategy of lockdown for initial control of the spreading epidemic. In spite of the high knowledge scores of the population 31% of the respondents did not choose to wear a mask while leaving home.  Also, a large number of respondents believed that early symptomatic treatment can prove useful to manage the infection. A statistically significant p value (<0.05) was obtained for the study variables in the statistical analysis, which showed that high knowledge scores were found to be associated with gender, categories of annual income and ethnicity.Conclusions: This survey shows that South African residents of a relatively high level of socioeconomic status, in particular women, have substantial knowledge, positive attitudes, but need to improve practices towards COVID-19 during the rapid rise phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. 


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 1140
Author(s):  
Yelda Koç ◽  
Serap Akyüz ◽  
Damla Akşit-Bıçak

Background and Objectives: “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19) is a critical public health problem that has affected all fields, including dentistry. The dental management of children has become even more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current knowledge, attitudes and practices of Turkish pediatric dentists who have been providing dental treatments to children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: After receiving ethical approval, this cross-sectional study was conducted using the Google Forms online survey instrument. An online questionnaire link was sent to all the members of the Turkish Society of Paediatric Dentistry by e-mail and through social media. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test; a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 200 pediatric dentists participated in this study and most of them (82%) only performed emergency dental treatments, whereas 18.5% performed both emergency and routine dental practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority (72.5%) of pediatric dentists prescribed antibiotics and analgesics to their patients who were not cooperative with non-pharmacological behavior management techniques. The findings of the current study showed that the Turkish pediatric dentists had a good level of knowledge about COVID-19, satisfactorily conducted most of the infection control measures before and after the dental treatments, and attached importance to the use of PPEs; however, infection control measures during the dental treatments could be implemented better. Conclusions: Along with all precautions, the vaccination of healthcare workers and requesting a recent test result from patients showing a lack of COVID-19 disease before dental appointments could be used as effective infection control measures. Additionally, pediatric dentists should continue to follow local and universal guidelines, and education programmes should be frequently implemented in order to keep their COVID-19 management strategies up to date.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026010602098235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panchali Moitra ◽  
Preeti Verma ◽  
Jagmeet Madan

Background: Development of culturally appropriate and psychometrically sound instruments that measure knowledge and health behaviors of children will help to inform appropriate interventions. Aim: To develop and test the validity and reliability of a questionnaire measuring knowledge, attitudes, and practices to healthy eating and activity patterns in school children in India. Methods: Review of literature, focus-group discussions, and theoretical constructs of the Health Belief Model guided the development of an item pool. Face and content validity were assessed by children and a panel of experts and the item content validity, item difficulty, and discrimination indices were calculated. Construct validity was determined using the principal axis method of exploratory factor analysis among a cross-sectional sample of children ( n=252). Internal consistency (Cronbach α values >0.7) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient values >0.75) were estimated. Results: Item content validity index for clarity and relevance were satisfactory (>0.80) and internal consistency for knowledge (Kuder-Richardson 20 = 0.832), attitude (Cronbach’s α = 0.912), and practice items (Cronbach’s α = 0.769) were good. Four factors (children’s eating habits, family dietary practices, and consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods) and two factors (moderate to vigorous activities and sedentary activities) explained 67.7% and 48.2% of the total variance in practice items. Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates ranged from good to excellent (0.72–0.99). Conclusions: The results of the validity and reliability of the 84-item knowledge, attitudes, and practices to healthy eating and activity patterns in schoolchildren questionnaire were promising. The detailed description of the methodology employed may prove useful to researchers conducting similar studies in children.


Author(s):  
Gianluca Voglino ◽  
Maria Rosaria Gualano ◽  
Stefano Rousset ◽  
Pietro Forghieri ◽  
Isabella Fraire ◽  
...  

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is suitable for high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infection risk people, foremost among whom are males who have sex with other males (MSM). This study evaluated knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding PrEP in a sample of Italian MSM, in order to hypothesize strategies to implement PrEP awareness and use. No previous study has assessed this issue; Methods: An online survey was given to an opportunistic sample of Italian MSM. The questionnaire investigated sexual behaviour and habits, HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge and PrEP awareness, attitudes and practices. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to identify factors associated with PrEP knowledge; Results: A total of 196 MSM participated in this survey. Overall data showed that 87.2% of participants knew what PrEP is, but only 7.5% have ever used it. The main reason for not using PrEP was the cost of the therapy (26.9%). The principal source of PrEP information was the Internet (68.4%). Being regularly tested for HIV was significantly associated with PrEP knowledge (adjusted odds ratio (AdjOR) = 3.16; confidence interval (CI) = 1.06–9.29); Conclusions: Knowledge regarding PrEP was well established, but PrEP use was not equally widespread. It is necessary to improve research on PrEP usage in order to PrEP access to be granted.


BJS Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddy Lincango-Naranjo ◽  
Paola Solis-Pazmino ◽  
Eddy Lincango-Naranjo

Abstract Introduction As new coronavirus has spread globally, economic instability in healthcare systems has been significant. This reality is especially accentuated in Ecuador where, the shortage of healthcare workers combined with cultural and macroeconomic factors have led it to face the most aggressive outbreak in Latin America. In this context, the participation of medical students on the front line is indispensable. Appropriate training on COVID-19 is an urgent need that universities and health systems must guarantee. We aimed to describe the knowledge, attitudes and practices in Ecuadorian final year medical students in order to identify the knowledge gaps, perceptions and behavior patterns which could guide the desig3n of better medical education curricula regarding COVID-19. Methods This descriptive 33-item online survey conducted between April 6 to April 20 sent by email and by Facebook and WhatsApp. Results 309 students responded to the survey. 88% scored high (≥ 70% correct) for knowledge of the disease. The majority of students were pessimistic about possible government actions, which is reflected in the negative attitude towards the control of COVID19 in Ecuador and volunteering during the outbreak (77%, and 58% of the students, respectively). Moreover, 91% of students said they did not have adequate protective equipment or training in their health facilities. Conclusions Ecuador has a capable upcoming workforce that could benefit from an opportunity to strengthen, improve and advance their training in preparation for COVID-19. Creating a national curriculum may be one of the most effective ways for all students to be trained, while simultaneously focusing on the students’ most pressing concerns.


Author(s):  
Vianey Argüelles-Nava ◽  
María Alvarez-Bañuelos ◽  
Daniel Córdoba-Suárez ◽  
Clara Sampieri ◽  
María Ortiz-León ◽  
...  

To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices about the Zika virus in both students and workers at the University of Veracruz, an online survey was conducted. The participants were divided into two groups: one according to sex, the other according to whether they were workers or students. Their answers were classified into knowledge, attitudes, and practices and they were rated as low, medium, and high. The results showed that knowledge about Zika prevailing among the university population is considered as medium in 79.4% of the study population. Most respondents know that the mosquito spreads the Zika virus (98.8%) and the clinical characteristics, while sexual transmission by the virus is little known (36.85%). Both the univariate analysis (OR (CI5) 0.227 (0.070–0.735), p = 0.013] and multivariate analysis (OR (CI95) 0.234 (0.071–778), p = 0.018] showed that belonging to the health sciences area is related to having a greater knowledge about Zika. Despite the existing knowledge, a low level of prevention practices prevails in the whole community (55%). A medium level of knowledge about Zika prevailed, while proper implementation of preventive measures for Zika is low, despite the fact that the state of Veracruz—the place where the University is located—is an endemic area.


Biomédica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supl. 2) ◽  
pp. 159-165
Author(s):  
Jorge Alberto Cortés ◽  
Pilar Espitia ◽  
Yuliet Liliana Rosero-Lasso

Introduction: Healthcare personnel plays an important role in the prevention of acute respiratory infections in hospital settings.Objective: Our aim was to establish the level of knowledge about respiratory virus infections and the attitudes and practices among healthcare workers, leaders of infection control committees in hospitals of Bogotá, Colombia.Materials and methods: We used a self-administered questionnaire of 28 items during the monthly meeting sponsored by the local health authority. “Yes or no” and “true or false” questions were applied to measure knowledge. Attitudes and practices were measured with a Likert-type scale according to the agreement degree.Results: We surveyed 70 healthcare workers. Respondents demonstrated a good level of knowledge as 80% of them answered correctly more than five questions. A total of 54.4% showed a low degree of agreement when asked if their institutions have the policy to stay home when they are sick with respiratory symptoms and 67.1% never or rarely remain at home under such conditions.Conclusion: Healthcare worker leaders of infection control committees in Bogotá’s ospitals have adequate knowledge about the prevention of seasonal respiratory viruses. There is a need for implementing urgent sick leave policies as a measure to prevent the spread of potential coronavirus infections in hospitals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edris Kakemam ◽  
Djavad Ghoddoosi-Nejad ◽  
Zahra Chegini ◽  
Khalil Momeni ◽  
Hamid Salehiniya ◽  
...  

Background: Emerged in December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one of the largest pandemics ever. During the early phase, little was known about public knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) relating to coronavirus disease. This study was designed to determine KAP of Iranians toward COVID-19.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was carried out in Iran from February 25 to April 25 using a self-administered questionnaire on 1,480 people. COVID-19-related KAP questions were adapted from other internationally validated questionnaires specific for infectious diseases.Results: All participants were aware of COVID-19. When asked unprompted, 80% of respondents could correctly cite fever, difficulty in breathing, and cough as signs/symptoms of COVID-19. Most of our sample population knew that staying at home and isolated (95.3%) as well as constant handwashing and using disinfectants (92.5%) could prevent COVID-19. However, there were also widespread misconceptions such as the belief that COVID-19 can be transmitted by wild animals (58%) and by air (48.3%). Unprompted, self-reported actions taken to avoid COVID-19 infection included handwashing with soap and water (95.4%), avoiding crowded places (93%), cleansing hands with other disinfectants (80.), and covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing (76.1%). The Internet and social media (94.5%) were the main coronavirus information sources. However, the most trusted information sources on coronavirus were health and medical professionals (79.3%). The majority of participants (77.0%) wanted more information about coronavirus to be available.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that people's knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19 at the time of its outbreak was at a high level.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 453
Author(s):  
Usman O. Adekanye ◽  
Abel B. Ekiri ◽  
Erika Galipó ◽  
Abubakar Bala Muhammad ◽  
Ana Mateus ◽  
...  

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health concern and the inappropriate use of antibiotics in animals and humans is considered a contributing factor. A cross-sectional survey to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of veterinarians regarding AMR and antimicrobial stewardship was conducted in Nigeria. A total of 241 respondents completed an online survey. Only 21% of respondents correctly defined the term antimicrobial stewardship and 59.8% were unaware of the guidelines provided by the Nigeria AMR National Action Plan. Over half (51%) of the respondents indicated that prophylactic antibiotic use was appropriate when farm biosecurity was poor. Only 20% of the respondents conducted antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) frequently, and the unavailability of veterinary laboratory services (82%) and the owner’s inability to pay (72%) were reported as key barriers to conducting AST. The study findings suggest strategies focusing on the following areas may be useful in improving appropriate antibiotic use and antimicrobial stewardship among veterinarians in Nigeria: increased awareness of responsible antimicrobial use among practicing and newly graduated veterinarians, increased dissemination of regularly updated antibiotic use guidelines, increased understanding of the role of good biosecurity and vaccination practices in disease prevention, and increased provision of laboratory services and AST at affordable costs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. e12.2-e12
Author(s):  
Samantha Laws ◽  
Mary Halter ◽  
Chao Wang

BackgroundChanges in the paramedic profession have seen an increased range of medicines available within UK ambulances services. However, poor practice in medicines management has been identified by the Care Quality Commission. Literature in this area is sparse. This study aimed to determine the perceived knowledge, attitudes and practices of paramedics regarding pharmacology and the legal and regulatory issues of medicines management and administration.MethodsThe study utilised a cross-sectional survey design, administering an anonymous online survey to all (approximately 1000) paramedics within one UK NHS ambulance trust. The survey focused on paramedic knowledge on pharmacology, legal supply and administration; self-assessment of knowledge and confidence related to medicine management and administration; and personal characteristics. The primary outcome was percentage of (pre-determined) correct answers.Results251 responses were received. The mean percentage of correct answers was 79.0% (SD 10.0), with variation by question observed, from 34.7 to 97.2% correct responses. A higher correct knowledge was associated with: higher self-rated confidence, lower self-reported knowledge, being less likely to report errors and higher education-based initial route into the paramedic profession.ConclusionThis single-site UK-based survey highlighted variation in medicines knowledge amongst self-selecting paramedic respondents. The results indicate a need for medicines-specific further education for all paramedics, particularly those who have not experienced longer formal education entry routes, integrating a focus on confidence and self-perceived knowledge, and enhancing and embedding integrated improvement strategies. Further research is required with larger, multi-site samples, and to evaluate the impact of education packages developed.


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