Evaluation of Dentists’ Awareness and Attitudes towards Infection Control in Turkey: A Survey Study

Year 2024, Volume: 8 Issue: 3, 92 - 98, 31.12.2024

Gülcan Berkel , Sinem Busra Kirac Can , Ferit Bayram

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and competences of dentists in the Turkish community regarding infection control.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive, online survey was conducted from July to December 2020, in Turkey. A survey was circulated via e-mail and WhatsApp groups to dentists. The survey consists of thirty questions with two parts. The first part included demographic data about the participants. The second part included questions aimed at assessing dentists' awareness of and attitudes toward infection control. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS version 29.0 software. A p value of <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.
Results: A total of 238 people responded to our survey. Among the participants, 127 were female and 111 were male, with a mean age of 38.5 ± 12.5 years. All of them are dentists and studying or working in Turkey. Ninety-five of the participants considered themselves in the risk group related to infectious diseases. It was observed that dentists in universities took more anamnesis about infectious diseases from patients than dentists working in other places (p < .05). Compared with men, women are significantly more likely to be vaccinated against hepatitis B (p < .05).
Conclusions: This study provides data on the level of infection control compliance among dentists in Turkey. The results of the present study revealed that knowledge about infection control was greater than that reported in previous studies.

Keywords

Blood-Borne Pathogens, Dentists, Infection Control, Surveys and Questionnaires, Infectious Disease Transmission.

Türkiye'deki Diş Hekimlerinin Enfeksiyon Kontrolüne Yönelik Farkındalık ve Tutumlarının Değerlendirilmesi: Bir Anket Çalışması

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türk toplumundaki diş hekimlerinin enfeksiyon kontrolüne ilişkin bilgi, tutum ve yeterliliklerini araştırmaktır.
Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu kesitsel, tanımlayıcı, çevrimiçi anket Temmuz-Aralık 2020 tarihleri arasında Türkiye'de gerçekleştirilmiştir. Anket, e-posta ve WhatsApp grupları aracılığıyla diş hekimleriyle paylaşılmıştır. Anket formu iki bölümden ve otuz sorudan oluşmaktadır. İlk bölümde katılımcılara ilişkin demografik veriler yer almaktadır. İkinci bölümde ise diş hekimlerinin enfeksiyon kontrolü konusundaki farkındalık ve tutumlarını değerlendirmeyi amaçlayan sorular yer almaktadır. İstatistiksel analiz SPSS versiyon 28.0 yazılımı kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. p değerinin <0.05 olması istatistiksel olarak anlamlı kabul edilmiştir.
Bulgular: Ankete toplam 238 kişi yanıt vermiştir. Katılımcıların 127'si kadın, 111'i erkektir ve yaş ortalamaları 38,5 ± 12,5 yıldır. Katılımcıların tamamı diş hekimidir ve Türkiye'de okumakta ya da çalışmaktadır. Katılımcıların %95'i kendilerini bulaşıcı hastalıklarla ilgili risk grubunda görmektedir. Üniversitelerde çalışan dişhekimlerinin diğer yerlerde çalışan dişhekimlerine göre hastalardan bulaşıcı hastalıklarla ilgili daha fazla anamnez aldıkları görülmüştür (p < .05). Kadınların Hepatit B'ye karşı aşılanma olasılığı erkeklere göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede daha yüksektir (p < .05).
Sonuç: Bu çalışma, Türkiye'deki diş hekimleri arasında enfeksiyon kontrolüne uyum düzeyi hakkında veri sağlamaktadır. Çalışmanın sonuçları, enfeksiyon kontrolü hakkındaki bilginin önceki çalışmalara göre daha yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir.

Keywords

Kanla Bulaşan Patojenler, Diş Hekimleri, Enfeksiyon Kontrolü, Anketler ve Soru Formları, Bulaşıcı Hastalık Bulaşması.

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