Awareness of HIV/AIDS infection and ethical concerns amongst dentistry students and auxiliary staff in a hospital setup in Kashmir, India

Asif Yousuf; Aasim Farooq Shah; Suhail Majid Jan; Mohsin Sidiq; Irfan Ashraf Baba

doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20163372

Authors

Asif Yousuf Department of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir -190010, India
Aasim Farooq Shah Department of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir -190010, India
Suhail Majid Jan Department of Periodontics, Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir -190010, India
Mohsin Sidiq Department of Pedodontics, Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir -190010, India
Irfan Ashraf Baba Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir -190010, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20163372

Keywords:

Dental, HIV/AIDS, Knowledge, Positive attitude

Abstract

Background: Human immuno virus infection/ acquired immuno deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) continues to be a major public health issue. HIV/ AIDS may particularly manifest in the oral cavity in the form of oral candidiasis, oral ulcers, non-tender bilateral swelling of the parotid glands and nodular tumours or Kaposi’s sarcomas. These oral manifestations are often among the first symptoms of HIV/AIDS which can prove beneficial in the early detection of the disease. The aim of the present study was to assess the awareness of HIV/AIDS infection and related ethical concerns amongst dentistry students and auxiliary staff in a hospital setup in Kashmir.

Methods: This cross sectional survey was conducted among 213 dental health care personnel, which included 34 third year BDS students, 35 Final year BDS Students, 106 Inters and 38 Dental Auxiliary staff comprising of nursing staff and lab technicians. A self-administered questionnaire/ survey instrument consisting of 15 close-ended structured questions to assess knowledge and attitude regarding HIV/AIDS was administered.

Results: The results showed that 70.96% of 3rd year BDS students, 75.75% of Final year BDS students, 71.15% of Interns and 42.10% of dental auxiliaries had knowledge about HIV infection.

Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that there is a need of spreading awareness about AIDS among health care provider’s including dentists and auxiliary staff for clearing the misconceptions and beliefs regarding the routes of transmission of HIV/ AIDS with the help of CDE/CME Programs and also revising the present syllabus in the curriculum during professional training of Dental graduates and auxiliary staff.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Cohen LA, Romberg E, Grace EG, Barnes DM. Attitudes of advanced dental education students toward individuals with AIDS. J Dent Educ. 2005;69:896‑900.

UNDP in India: Results from 2010. Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Available at: http://www.undp.org.in/ sites/ default/ files/reportsublication/ UNDP_Annual_Report_ 2011.pdf

Swaminathan S, Narendran G. HIV and tuberculosis in India. J Biosci. 2008;33:527-37.

Cohen LA, Romberg E, Grace E. Revisiting the attitudes of dental faculty toward individuals with AIDS. J Dent Edu. 2001;65:249-52.

Zhang X, Reichart PA, Song Y. Oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS in China: a review. Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2009;13(2):63-8.

Patel BH, Srivastava RK, Moitra M. Knowledge on HIV/AIDS among Healthcare Professionals in Surat City. Int J Int Med Res. 2015;2(3):6-9.

Erasmus S, Luiters S, Brijlal P. Oral Hygiene and dental student’s knowledge, attitude and behaviour in managing HIV/AIDS patients. Int J Dent Hyg. 2005;3:213‑7.

ICMR Bulletin. Live and Let live: acceptance of people living with HIV/AIDS in the era where stigma and discrimination persist. 2002;32(11&12):104-12.

Oliveira ER, Narendran S, Falcão A. Brazilian dental students’ knowledge and attitudes towards HIV infection. AIDS Care. 2002;14:569‑76.

Islam MT, Mostafa G, Bhuiya AU, Hawkes S, de Francisco A. Knowledge on, and attitude toward, HIV/AIDS among staff of an international organization in Bangladesh. J Health Popul Nutr. 2002;20:271-8.

WHO. Research Package: Knowledge, Attitude, beliefs and practices on AIDS (KABP) phase I. WHO Geneva. 1990.

Rasania SK, Singh RN. HIV/AIDS: an evaluative study among health care providers. Indian Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2003;24(2):58-61.

Omisakin FD. Nurses' knowledge and skills about caring for patients with HIV/AIDS in Osun state. Niger J Med. 2001;10(1):30-3.

Chauhan AS, Hussain MA, Patil S, Nallala S, Mishra J. Knowledge and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS among medical and Allied health Sciences Students. Indian J Community Health. 2011;23(2):96-8.

Mohsin S, Nayak S, Mandaviya V. Medical students’ knowledge and attitudes related to HIV / AIDS. Nat J Com Med. 2010;1(2):146-9.

Khosravanifard B, Rakshan V, Ghasemi M, Pakdel A, Baradaran-Eghbal S, Sheikholeslami R, et al. Tehran dentists self-reported knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS and observed willingness to treat simulated HIV-Positive patients. East Mediterr Health J. 2012;18(9):928-34.

Patil P, Sreenivasan V, Goel A. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitude of dental students towards HIV/AIDS patients: A cross sectional survey. J Education and Ethics in Dentistry. 2011;1(2):59-63.

Kitaura H, Adachi N, Kobayashi K, Yamada T. Knowledge and attitudes of Japanese dental health care workers towards HIV‑related disease. J Dent. 1997; 25:279‑83.

Sadeghi M, Hakimi H. Iranian dental students’ knowledge of and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients. J Dent Educ. 2009;73:740‑5.

Bishop GD, Oh HML, Swee HY. Attitudes and Beliefs of Singapore Health Care Professionals Concerning HIV/AIDS. Singapore Med J. 2000;41(2):55-63.

Goel NK, Kaur N, Singh SP, Singh G, Kaur P. An explorative ‘KABP’ study on AIDS among nursing professionals. Indian J. Prev. Soc. Med. 1999;30(2):79-84.

Uti OG, Agbelusi GA, Jeboda SO, Ogunbodede E. Infection control knowledge and practices related to HIV among Nigerian dentists. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2009.

McCarthy GM, Ssali CS, Bednarsh H, Jorge J, Wangrangsimakul K, Page-Shafer K. Transmission of HIV in the dental clinic and elsewhere. Oral Dis. 2002;8 Suppl 2:126-35.

Bell DM, Shapiro CN, Ciesielski CA, Chamberland ME. Preventing blood borne pathogen transmission from health-care workers to patients. The CDC perspective. Surg Clin North Am. 1995;75(6):1189-203.

Dickinson GM, Morhart RE, Klimas NG, Bandea CI, Laracuente JM, Bisno AL. Absence of HIV transmission from an infected dentist to his patients. An epidemiologic and DNA sequence analysis. JAMA. 1993;269(14):1802-6.

McCartan BE, Samarnayake LP. Oral care of HIV infected patients: The knowledge and attitude of Irish dentists. J Ir Dent Assoc. 1991;37(2):41-3.

Ryalat ST, Sawair FA, Shayyab MH, Amin WM. The knowledge and attitude about HIV/AIDS among Jordanian dental students: (Clinical versus pre clinical students) at the University of Jordan. BMC Res Notes. 2011;4:191.

Daniel M. Aids in India: Denial and disaster. Harv Int Review. 2003;25:9-10.

Anjum Q, Siddiqui H, Ahmed Y, Rizvi SR, Usman Y. Knowledge of students regarding hepatitis and HIV/AIDS of a private medical university in Karachi. J Pak Med Assoc. 2005;55:285-8.

Chatterjee G, Chakraborthy I, Mitra J. Knowledge about HIV and AIDS among medical entrants-A questionnaire study. Indian J Dermatol. 2001;46(2):80-2.

WHO/GPA/SBR. Interview Schedule on Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Practices on AIDS/KABP Survey. 1988.