Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Teledentistry among Dental Practitioners during COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Objectives: This systemic review aims to appraise and analyse the awareness, knowledge, attitude, and practice of teledentistry among dental practitioners during COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This review was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42021283404). Cross-sectional articles on dental practitioners’ perceptions towards teledentistry published between March 2020 and September 2021 were searched in ten online databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, EMBASE, SIGLE, EBSCO, LILACS, and Open Grey). The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool was employed to analyse the risk of bias (RoB) of each article, whereas the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine recommendation tool was used to evaluate the level of evidence. Data were analysed using the DerSimonian–Laird random effect model based on a single-arm approach. Results: Six studies were included and demonstrated Level 3 evidence. A single-arm meta-analysis revealed that dental practitioners had a high level of awareness (70.4%) and attitude (72.5%) towards teledentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their knowledge level (57.9%) was moderate with a poor practice level (35.8%). A substantial heterogeneity was observed with the overall I2 ranging from 90.78% to 98.21%. Furthermore, meta-regression indicated that the sample size of each study had a significant (p < 0.05) impact on the degree of data heterogeneity. Conclusions: Despite their high degree of awareness and attitude, dental practitioners demonstrated moderate knowledge and relatively poor practice of teledentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. More well-designed studies are warranted to investigate the alternatives for enhancing dental practitioners’ knowledge and practice of teledentistry interventions.

Impact of Coronavirus Infectious Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on willingness of immunization—A community-based questionnaire study

Background Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a great impact on global health, but with relatively few confirmed cases in Taiwan. People in Taiwan showed excellent cooperation with the government for disease prevention and faced social and behavioral changes during this period. This study aimed to investigate people’s knowledge of COVID-19, attitudes and practices regarding vaccinations for influenza, pneumococcus and COVID-19. Methods We conducted a community-based, cross-sectional questionnaire survey from September 2020 to October 2020 among adults in northern Taiwan. The four-part questionnaire included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19. Results Among a total of 410 respondents, 58.5% were categorized as having “good knowledge” responding to COVID-19. Among the total respondents, 86.6% were willing to receive influenza or pneumococcal vaccines, and 76% of them acted to receive COVID-19 immunization once the vaccine became available. Compared with the respondents with poor knowledge of COVID-19, those with good knowledge had a more positive attitude toward receiving influenza or pneumococcal immunization (OR 3.26, 95% CI = 1.74–6.12). Conclusions Participants with good knowledge of COVID-19 had greater intent to receive immunization for influenza or pneumococcal vaccine. The promotion of correct knowledge of both COVID-19 and immunization preparations is necessary.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) toward Cervical Cancer Screening among Adama Science and Technology University Female Students, Ethiopia

Background. Cervical cancer is a complication of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Eighty percent of the cases occur in low-resource countries. According to the 2009 World Health Organization report, the age-adjusted incidence rate of cervical cancer in Ethiopia was 35.9 per 100,000 patients with 7619 annual number of new cases and 60-81 deaths every year. The study is aimed at assessing the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice concerning cervical cancer among female students at Adama Science and Technology University. Methodology. An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 667Adama Science and Technology University female students. A simple random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results. About 404 (60.6%) of the participants heard about cervical cancer, 478 (71.7%) had positive attitude towards cervical cancer screening, and only 15 (2.2%) participants were screened for cervical cancer. Lack of information about cervical cancer was the most reported reason for not attending to cervical cancer screening. Conclusion and Recommendation. The study showed that there was low knowledge on cervical cancer and screening for premalignant lesion among women. There is a need to promote and encourage women to early cervical cancer screening at precancerous stage by informing their susceptibility to cervical cancer.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Mothers Attending Tertiary Care Hospital

OBJECTIVES: To determine knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding exclusive breastfeeding among mothers attending tertiary care hospitals. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Pediatrics in Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. A total of 162 mothers were selected who were practicing breastfeeding of ages between 20 to 35 years, having a full-term baby of age up to 6 months old. The data is collected through a pre-planned questionnaire and then was analyzed using statistics version 24.0. The duration of the study was from 1st June 2020 to 30th October 2020. RESULTS: The results showed that no significant association was found between age groups, socio-economic status regarding knowledge, attitude, and practice (p>0.05). However, there was a significant difference between knowledge, attitude, and practice with respect to educational status (p<0.05). 123 (73.21%) mothers had unsatisfactory; whereas 39 (24.07%) mothers had excellent knowledge regarding breastfeeding. 39 (27.07%) of breast-feeding mothers had a positive attitude towards breastfeeding. 123 (73.21%) women showed a negative response regarding the practice of breastfeeding. CONCLUSION: Most of the mothers didn’t have adequate knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practice. As a result, it is suggested that media can be used as a medium to educate women about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF).

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Skin Whitening Products, Among Sudanese Undergraduate Females, 2021.

Objectives: The knowledge, attitude and practice of skin-whitening products among female undergraduates in the medical campus, University of Khartoum.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the medical campus of University of Khartoum. All consenting female undergraduates were included in the study population. 417 women were chosen through proportional stratified random sampling, and were asked to complete a questionnaire.365 completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 87%. Result: 365 women completed the questionnaire, of whom 52% had average knowledge, 32% had poor knowledge and 16% had excellent knowledge,.32% had a positive attitude, and 38% reported using skin-whitening products.Knowledge, attitude and practice were associated with several factors.Conclusion : Although The overall knowledge about skin-whitening products is average. The knowledge about skin-whitening agents is rather poor. The majority of Sudanese University students have a negative attitude towards skin-whitening, but still the use of skin-whiteners is common amongst them .. Women who feel pressured by society to whiten their skin, are more likely to use skin-whiteners, as well as those who have a family history of skin-whitening. Media and social media play an important role in this matter, being the most important source of information and the most common factor pressuring women to lighten their skin as well. We recommend media and social to be used to promote the acceptance of dark skin and raise awareness about the safe practice of skin whitening. We also recommend that the Ministry of Health and Standards and Metrology Authority mandate the labeling of all products sold in Sudan detailing ingredients and concentrations of ingredients.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Emergency Contraceptives use Among Negelle Health Sciience College Female Students, South Eastern, Ethiopia: a Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study, 2021

Background: Emergency contraceptives is the only method women cause to prevent pregnancy after they have had unprotected sexual intercourse. About 7.2% of women will be sexually assaulted by a stranger and depending on the region; 23-36% of women will experience unwanted sex from an intimate partner. Objective: To ascertain knowledge, attitude and practice towards emergency contraceptive use among female students in Negelle college of health sciences. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study design was carried out July 29 /2021 to September 31/2021.Data was collected through employing semi-structured self-administered questioner, and then the collected data was cleared, coded and analyzed by statistical packages for social sciences 26.0 version statistical software. Descriptive statistics were used for variables using statistical parameters of frequencies, and percentages, and were presented in table format. Factors with a bivariate test value ≤ 0.05 were included. Results: The study was conducted on total sample of 152 participants, among the respondents, majority 131(86.2%) of them age was >20 years old. Above half 92(60.5%) of the study subjects was heard the cornerstones merit of contraceptives was to prevent pregnancy.82(53.9) respondents were agree about when having unintended sexual intercourse, they take ECPs.60 (39.5%) of the study subjects were agree about fear of side effects hinder them from not using ECPs.85(56.0%) were used EC pills after unprotected sexual intercourse. Age greater than twenty years and unmarred female students was predictors to have good knowledge about EC pills. Conclusion and recommendations: A majority of this study subjects were came from urban area, and majority of the study subjects were bought EC from pharmacy from pharmacy and shop. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards EC among female students were high. Health care workers should have to escalate awareness of the usage of emergency contraceptive methods among female students.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice for Pruritus Management in Physicians and Patients with Diabetes

Pruritus is a common dermatological condition observed in patients with diabetes, making it a dermatometabolic condition. Being multiaethiological, pruritis is caused by autoimmune, genetic, infectious and various systemic diseases. The present survey aimed to understand the knowledge, attitude and practice toward pruritus among Indian physicians and patients with diabetes presenting with pruritus. A telephonic, cross-sectional, qualitative survey was conducted among physicians and patients across five cities in India from July–August 2020. An open-ended discussion guide was used for the interview; the data were analyzed to check for common themes and trends. A majority of the consulting physicians (CPs) believed that uncontrolled diabetes is the main causal factor for pruritus in patients with diabetes and reported that currently there are no standard tests or treatment guidelines for its management. CPs emphasized proper monitoring and counseling to overcome current challenges. Patients reported a negative impact of pruritus on their daily activities and quality of life. The survey concluded that poor management of diabetes is one of the main causal factors for patients with diabetes presenting with pruritus in India. CPs emphasized controlling diabetes along with symptomatic treatment. For patients, pruritus has multifaceted effects on their health, overall well-being, and quality of life.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among Physical Therapists toward COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—A Cross-Sectional Study

To curb the COVID-19 pandemic, the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of preventive measures play an essential role, and healthcare workers have had to endure a burden to care for COVID-19 patients. Thus, this study aimed to assess the weight of the KAP of physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a cross-sectional study, where we circulated an online KAP questionnaire to 1179 physical therapists, and among those, 287 participated and completed the questionnaire. The collected responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation, and regression analyses, and p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Both males and females participated in almost equal numbers; most of the participants were <40 years, had a bachelor’s level of education, and were from the central region of Saudi Arabia. Social media and the internet were the primary sources of COVID-19-related information (74.6%). Knowledge components A (92%) and B (73.9%) were excellent among most participants. Approximately half of the participants (50.5%) had a moderate attitude toward COVID-19, and regarding the practice component, most participants (74.6%) scored moderately. Correlation analysis showed a low positive relationship between knowledge A, attitude, and practice components. Still, there was a very low positive relationship between knowledge B, attitude, and practice components, but both were statistically significant. Our study showed that physical therapists in Saudi Arabia exhibit good knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19.