Knowledge of dental academics about the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-country online survey

Abstract Background COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge and associated factors among dental academics in 26 countries. Methods We invited dental academics to participate in a cross-sectional, multi-country, online survey from March to April 2020. The survey collected data on knowledge of COVID-19 regarding the mode of transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, protection, and dental treatment precautions as well as participants’ background variables. Multilevel linear models were used to assess the association between dental academics’ knowledge of COVID-19 and individual level (personal and professional) and country-level (number of COVID-19 cases/ million population) factors accounting for random variation among countries. Results Two thousand forty-five academics participated in the survey (response rate 14.3%, with 54.7% female and 67% younger than 46 years of age). The mean (SD) knowledge percent score was 73.2 (11.2) %, and the score of knowledge of symptoms was significantly lower than the score of knowledge of diagnostic methods (53.1 and 85.4%, P < 0.0001). Knowledge score was significantly higher among those living with a partner/spouse than among those living alone (regression coefficient (B) = 0.48); higher among those with PhD degrees than among those with Bachelor of Dental Science degrees (B = 0.48); higher among those seeing 21 to 30 patients daily than among those seeing no patients (B = 0.65); and higher among those from countries with a higher number of COVID-19 cases/million population (B = 0.0007). Conclusions Dental academics had poorer knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms than of COVID-19 diagnostic methods. Living arrangements, academic degrees, patient load, and magnitude of the epidemic in the country were associated with COVD-19 knowledge among dental academics. Training of dental academics on COVID-19 can be designed using these findings to recruit those with the greatest need.

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Knowledge of Dental Academics about the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Country Online Survey

10.21203/rs.3.rs-42349/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nour Ammar ◽

Nourhan M. Aly ◽

Morenike O. Folayan ◽

Simin Z. Mohebbi ◽

Sameh Attia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Living Arrangements ◽

Online Survey ◽

Linear Models ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Knowledge Score ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Level ◽

Country Level ◽

Global Pandemic

Abstract Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge and associated factors among dental academics in 26 countries. Methods: We invited dental academics to participate in a cross-sectional, multi-country, online survey from March to April 2020. The survey collected data on knowledge of COVID-19 regarding the mode of transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, protection, and dental treatment precautions as well as participants’ background variables. Multilevel linear models were used to assess the association between dental academics’ knowledge of COVID-19 and individual level (personal and professional) and country-level (number of COVID-19 cases/ million population) factors accounting for random variation among countries. Results: Two thousand forty-five academics participated in the survey (response rate 14.3%, with 54.7% female and 67% younger than 46 years of age). The mean (SD) knowledge percent score was 73.2 (11.2) %, and the score of knowledge of symptoms was significantly lower than the score of knowledge of diagnostic methods (53.1% and 85.4%; P< 0.0001). Knowledge score was significantly higher among those living with a partner/spouse than among those living alone (regression coefficient (B)= 0.48); higher among those with PhD degrees than among those with Bachelor of Dental Science degrees (B= 0.48); higher among those seeing 21 to 30 patients daily than among those seeing no patients (B= 0.65); and higher among those from countries with a higher number of COVID-19 cases/million population (B= 0.0007). Conclusions: Dental academics had poorer knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms than of COVID-19 diagnostic methods. Living arrangements, academic degrees, patient load, and magnitude of the epidemic in the country were associated with COVD-19 knowledge among dental academics. Training of dental academics on COVID-19 can be designed using these findings to recruit those with the greatest need.

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Knowledge of Dental Academics about the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Country Online Survey

10.21203/rs.3.rs-42349/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nour Ammar ◽

Nourhan M. Aly ◽

Morenike O. Folayan ◽

Simin Z. Mohebbi ◽

Sameh Attia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Living Arrangements ◽

Online Survey ◽

Linear Models ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Country Level ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

The Mean ◽

Multilevel Linear Models

Abstract Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge and associated factors among dental academics in various countries. Method: We invited dental academics to participate in a cross-sectional, multi-country, online survey from March to April 2020. The survey assessed knowledge of COVID-19 regarding the mode of transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, protection, and dental treatment precautions as well as participants’ background variables. The analysis was based on multilevel linear models to assess the association between knowledge and factors at individual levels (personal and professional) and country-level (number of COVID-19 cases/ million population), accounting for random variation among countries. Results: Two thousand forty-five academics from 26 countries participated in the survey (response rate= 14.3%, with 54.7% female and 67% younger than 46 years of age). The mean (SD) knowledge percent score was 73.2% (11.2), and the knowledge of symptoms score was significantly lower than the diagnostic methods score (53.1% and 85.4%). Knowledge was significantly higher among those living with partner/spouse than those living alone (regression coefficient (B)= 0.48); those with PhD than those with BDS (B= 0.48), those seeing 21 to 30 patients daily than those seeing no patients (B= 0.65) and those from countries with a higher number of COVID-19 cases/million population (B= 0.0007). Conclusions: Dental academics had poorer knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms than diagnostic methods. Living arrangements, academic degrees, patient load, and magnitude of epidemic in the country were associated with COVD-19 knowledge among dental academics. COVID-19 training can be designed using these factors to target academics with the greatest need.

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Knowledge of Dental Academics about the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Country Online Survey

10.21203/rs.3.rs-42349/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nour Ammar ◽

Nourhan M. Aly ◽

Morenike O. Folayan ◽

Simin Z. Mohebbi ◽

Sameh Attia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Living Arrangements ◽

Online Survey ◽

Linear Models ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Country Level ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

The Mean ◽

Multilevel Linear Models

Abstract Background COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge and associated factors among dental academics in various countries. Method We invited dental academics to participate in a cross-sectional, multi-country, online survey from March to April 2020. The survey assessed knowledge of COVID-19 regarding the mode of transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, protection, and dental treatment precautions as well as participants’ background variables. The analysis was based on multilevel linear models to assess the association between knowledge and factors at individual levels (personal and professional) and country-level (number of COVID-19 cases/ million population), accounting for random variation among countries. Results Two thousand forty-five academics from 26 countries participated in the survey (response rate= 14.3%, with 54.7% female and 67% younger than 46 years of age). The mean (SD) knowledge percent score was 73.2% (11.2), and the knowledge of symptoms score was significantly lower than the diagnostic methods score (53.1% and 85.4%). Knowledge was significantly higher among those living with partner/spouse than those living alone (regression coefficient (B)= 0.48); those with PhD than those with BDS (B= 0.48), those seeing 21 to 30 patients daily than those seeing no patients (B= 0.65) and those from countries with a higher number of COVID-19 cases/million population (B= 0.0007). Conclusions Dental academics had poorer knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms than diagnostic methods. Living arrangements, academic degrees, patient load, and magnitude of epidemic in the country were associated with COVD-19 knowledge among dental academics. COVID-19 training can be designed using these factors to target academics with the greatest need.

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Social Capital and Self-Perceived Health in Lone Mothers: A Multilevel Cross-Sectional Study across Europe

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x21994163 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0192513X2199416

Author(s):

Sara Trujillo-Alemán ◽

Åsa Tjulin ◽

Glòria Pérez ◽

Emma Hagqvist

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Family Policy ◽

Social Activity ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Model ◽

Individual Level ◽

Country Level ◽

Lone Mothers

This study aimed to explore the distribution of social capital and its relation to self-perceived health in lone mothers across Europe. Data were drawn from the European Social Survey Round 5. The sample was restricted to women (15–64 years), not cohabiting with a partner, and with children (≤ 18 years) living in the household. Social capital was measured using variables, representing both structural (political engagement, social support, and social activity) and cognitive (generalized trust, institutionalized trust, reciprocity, and a feeling of safety) components. Individual-level measurements: age, educational attainment, employment status, income level, and household economy. Country-level measurements: family policy model and collective social capital. A multilevel analysis was conducted. The results revealed cross-country variance in the level of lone mothers’ social capital. After adjustment for individual-level and country-level measurements, only reciprocity and a feeling of safety were related to good self-perceived health among lone mothers in Europe.

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Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Saudi Parents Towards Their Children's Oral Health: An Online Questionnaire Survey

European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences ◽

10.24018/ejmed.2019.1.4.81 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Malaz Mohamed Elrafie Mustafa ◽

Ebtehaj Saleh Albeshri ◽

Mashael Khaled Althobati

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Young Children ◽

Breast Feeding ◽

Online Survey ◽

Family Income ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

On Demand ◽

Children’S Oral Health

Children's oral health is of paramount importance as it governs the oral health status of the upcoming generation. Their oral hygiene is a vital part of general childcare. This under-appraised issue is often neglected by young parents, which can result in poor children's oral health. Aim: To assess standard knowledge, attitude and behavior of Saudi parents pertaining to the oral health of their young children. Materials and Methods: a prospective cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia in 2017. The questionnaire included a total of 16 questions which were divided into two parts; the first part asked about parents' general information such as the name, age, gender, educational level, occupation and total family income. The second part included questions related to knowledge, attitude and practices toward children on selected oral health issues. Results: 1038 Saudi parents responded to the online questionnaire (70% Females and 30% male). Majority Saudi parents recognized many preventive dental aspects like importance of early acquisition of tooth brushing, avoidance of caries-related diet and nocturnal on demand breast feeding. Seventy three percent were convinced that it is better to take their children to a specialized pediatric dentist rather than a general dental practitioner. However, it was revealed that there was limited knowledge and awareness of Saudi parents about the significance of the routine dental checkups, ideal timing of first dental visit and importance of topical fluoride. Hypothetical myths and social beliefs associated with dental treatment like endodontic treatment were common; creating barriers to early preventive and curative dental care of young Saudi children. Conclusion: Parents were found to have inadequate knowledge in regard to oral health of their young children. The present research points to a need for enhanced dental education of parents, particularly in planning for their children's first visit and effect of prolonged on-demand at night breast feeding on development of early childhood caries. Community based oral health programs are required in order to raise parents' awareness regarding their children's oral health.

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Drug Use Changes at the Individual Level: Results from a Longitudinal, Multisite Survey in Young Europeans Frequenting the Nightlife Scene

European Addiction Research ◽

10.1159/000520118 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Meryem Grabski ◽

Jon Waldron ◽

Tom P. Freeman ◽

Claire Mokrysz ◽

Ruben J.J. van Beek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Online Survey ◽

Prescription Opioids ◽

Alkyl Nitrates ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Past ◽

Frequency Of Use ◽

The Individual

Background: Monitoring emerging trends in the increasingly dynamic European drug market is vital; however, information on change at the individual level is scarce. In the current study, we investigated changes in drug use over 12 months in European nightlife attendees. Method: In this longitudinal online survey, changes in substances used, use frequency in continued users, and relative initiation of use at follow-up were assessed for 20 different substances. To take part, participants had to be aged 18–34 years; be from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the UK; and have attended at least 6 electronic music events in the past 12 months at baseline. Of 8,045 volunteers at baseline, 2,897 completed the survey at both time points (36% follow-up rate), in 2017 and 2018. Results: The number of people using ketamine increased by 21% (p < 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in those continuing use increased by 15% (p < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.07–0.23). 4-Fluoroamphetamine use decreased by 27% (p < 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in continuing users decreased by 15% (p < 0.001, 95% CI: −0.48 to −0.23). The drugs with the greatest proportion of relative initiation at follow-up were synthetic cannabinoids (73%, N = 30), mephedrone (44%, N = 18), alkyl nitrites (42%, N = 147), synthetic dissociatives (41%, N = 15), and prescription opioids (40%, N = 48). Conclusions: In this European nightlife sample, ketamine was found to have the biggest increase in the past 12 months, which occurred alongside an increase in frequency of use in continuing users. The patterns of uptake and discontinuation of alkyl nitrates, novel psychoactive substances, and prescription opioids provide new information that has not been captured by existing cross-sectional surveys. These findings demonstrate the importance of longitudinal assessments of drug use and highlight the dynamic nature of the European drug landscape.

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Factors Associated with Perceived Trust of False Abortion Websites: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25323 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sarina Rebecca Chaiken ◽

Lisa Han ◽

Blair G Darney ◽

Leo Han

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Correlation Matrices ◽

Individual Level ◽

Perceived Trust ◽

Neutral Site ◽

Design Characteristics ◽

The Individual

BACKGROUND The majority of patients use the internet to search for health information. While there is a vast repository of searchable information online, much of the content is unregulated and therefore potentially incorrect, conflicting, or confusing. Abortion information online is particularly prone to being inaccurate as anti-choice websites publish purposefully misleading information in formats that appear as neutral resources. To understand how anti-choice websites appear neutral, we need to understand the specific website features of anti-choice features that impart trust to viewers. OBJECTIVE We sought to identify characteristics of false or misleading abortion websites that make these websites appear trustworthy to the public. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study using Amazon.com Inc’s Mechanical Turk platform. We used validated questionnaires to ask participants to rate eleven anti-choice sites and one neutral site identified by experts, focusing on site content, creators, and design. We collected socio-demographic data and participant views on abortion. We used a composite measure of “mean overall trust” as our primary outcome. Using correlation matrices, we determined which website characteristics were most associated with overall trust. Finally, we used linear regression to identify participant characteristics associated with overall trust. RESULTS Our analytic sample included 498 participants ranging from ages 22 to 70, 50.1% of whom identified as female. Across eleven anti-choice sites, creator trust (“I believe that the creators of this site are honest and trustworthy”) had the highest correlation coefficient with overall trust (0.70). Professional appearance (0.59), look and feel (0.59), perception that the information is created by experts (0.59), association with a trustworthy organization (0.58), valued features and functionalities (0.54), and interactive capabilities (0.52) all demonstrated strong relationships with overall trust. At the individual level, pro-choice leaning was associated with higher overall trust of the neutral site (B: -0.43, CI: -0.87, 0.01) and lower overall trust of the anti-choice sites (B: 0.52, CI: 0.05, .99). CONCLUSIONS The overall trustworthiness of anti-choice websites is most associated with design characteristics and perceived trustworthiness of the site creator. Those who believe that access to abortion should be limited are more likely to trust anti-choice websites.

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Exposure to secondhand aerosol of electronic cigarettes in indoor settings in 12 European countries: data from the TackSHS survey

Tobacco Control ◽

10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055376 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 49-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Beladenta Amalia ◽

Xiaoqiu Liu ◽

Alessandra Lugo ◽

Marcela Fu ◽

Anna Odone ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Electronic Cigarettes ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

European Countries ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Level ◽

Country Level ◽

Registration Number ◽

Private Transportation

IntroductionExposure to secondhand aerosol from e-cigarette (SHA) may pose harmful effects to bystanders. This study aims to investigate the prevalence, duration and determinants of SHA exposure in various indoor settings in 12 European countries.MethodsIn 2017–2018, we conducted a cross-sectional study, the TackSHS survey, on a representative sample of the population aged ≥15 years in 12 European countries (Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain). We described the prevalence and duration of exposure to SHA in several indoor settings among 11 604 e-cigarette non-users. Individual-level and country-level characteristics associated with SHA exposure were also explored using multilevel logistic regression analyses.ResultsOverall, 16.0% of e-cigarette non-users were exposed to SHA in any indoor setting at least weekly, ranging from 4.3% in Spain to 29.6% in England. The median duration of SHA exposure among those who were exposed was 43 min/day. ‘Other indoor settings’ (eg, bar and restaurant) was reported as the place where most of e-cigarette non-users were exposed (8.3%), followed by workplace/educational venues (6.4%), home (5.8%), public transportation (3.5%) and private transportation (2.7%). SHA exposure was more likely to occur in certain groups of non-users: men, younger age groups, those with higher level of education, e-cigarette past users, current smokers, those perceiving SHA harmless and living in countries with a higher e-cigarette use prevalence.ConclusionsWe found inequalities of SHA exposure across and within European countries. Governments should consider extending their tobacco smoke-free legislation to e-cigarettes to protect bystanders, particularly vulnerable populations such as young people.Trial registration numberNCT02928536.

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Applying Multilevel Modeling to Understand Individual and Cross-Cultural Variations in Attitudes Toward Homosexual People Across 28 European Countries

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology ◽

10.1177/0022022116672488 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 93-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Candice D. Donaldson ◽

Lindsay M. Handren ◽

Andrew Lac

Keyword(s):

Civil Rights ◽

Multilevel Modeling ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

European Countries ◽

Political Affiliation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Level ◽

Nested Models ◽

Openness To Change ◽

Country Level

Individual and cross-cultural factors associated with attitudes toward homosexual people were examined in this study. Using cross-sectional data from the sixth biennial European Social Survey, which represents 36,959 individuals nested within 28 European countries, successive nested models were tested using multilevel modeling (MLM). Results found that attitudes varied cross-culturally as a function of people’s country of residence—this clustering effect was controlled for in all subsequent models. Individual-level predictors (Level 1) of male gender, older age, less education, being an immigrant to one’s residing country, conservative political affiliation, high religiosity, perceptions that politics in one’s country were unfair, low openness to change values, low self-transcendence values, high conservation values, and high self-enhancement values were significantly linked with anti-homosexuality attitudes. At the country level (Level 2), a high emphasis on social conservatism and fewer civil rights for homosexuals was connected with more unfavorable attitudes. Findings indicate main effects of predictors at both levels; however, country-level variables tended to yield stronger coefficients than individual-level factors, highlighting the contributions of macro- and microfactors in simultaneously shaping attitudes toward homosexuality. Beyond these effects, interactions of country- and individual-level variables show political affiliation, religiosity, self-enhancement values as stronger predictors in liberal countries, but openness to change values, younger age, and higher education as stronger predictors in conservative countries. Implications are discussed for understanding the wide continuum of views toward homosexuality across people and countries.

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Does Immigration Erode Social Capital? The Conditional Effects of Immigration-Generated Diversity on Trust, Membership, and Participation across 19 Countries, 1981–2000

Canadian Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0008423910000077 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 319-347 ◽

Cited By ~ 150

Author(s):

Christel Kesler ◽

Irene Bloemraad

Keyword(s):

Social Trust ◽

World Values Survey ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Individual Level ◽

Country Level ◽

Conditional Effects ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Nous Examinons ◽

Société Civile

Abstract. This article is an attempt to qualify existing evidence that increasing diversity is detrimental to a vibrant civil society. We focus specifically on immigration-generated diversity, and argue that while it may have negative effects on some specific civic and political outcomes in some contexts, these effects vary widely across advanced democracies. Our argument rests on analysis of a cross-national, cross-sectional time-series dataset that brings together individual-level World Values Survey data with country-level variables. With these data, we track within-country changes over time in trust and engagement. We show that immigration can have a negative effect on social trust, organizational membership and political engagement, but that institutional arrangements shape this relationship in systematic ways. In more economically equal societies and in more multicultural countries (where cultural minorities are recognized and accommodated), the negative effects of immigration on trust and engagement are mitigated or even reversed. We conclude that there is no general link between immigration-generated diversity and collective-mindedness. Rather, the direction and strength of the relationship depend on institutional and policy contexts.Résumé. Cet article vise à nuancer les preuves existantes que la diversité croissante porte préjudice à une société civile dynamique. Nous nous concentrons particulièrement sur la diversité produite par l'immigration. Nous soutenons que même si elle peut exercer une influence négative sur quelques indices dans certains contextes, ces effets varient considérablement selon le pays examiné parmi les démocraties avancées. Notre argument repose sur l'analyse d'un ensemble de données multinational, transversal et longitudinal qui rassemble des données au niveau individuel du World Values Survey avec des variables au niveau des pays. Au moyen de ces données, nous examinons les changements survenus à l'intérieur des pays, au fil du temps, sur le plan de la confiance et de l'engagement. Nous montrons que l'immigration peut avoir un effet négatif sur la confiance sociale, l'adhésion à des organisations et l'engagement politique, mais que les arrangements institutionnels influencent cette relation de manières systématiques. Dans les sociétés plus économiquement égales et dans les pays plus multiculturels (où les minorités culturelles sont reconnues et accommodées), les effets négatifs de l'immigration sur la confiance et l'engagement sont atténués, voire inversés. Nous concluons qu'il n'y a aucun lien général entre la diversité produite par l'immigration et l'esprit collectif. La direction et la force de la relation entre les deux dépendent plutôt des politiques et des contextes institutionnels.

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