Evaluation of knowledge about HIV/AIDS patients among dental students: Findings from Eastern Turkey

Abstract

Objective: It is important that all dentists should have sufficient knowledge of HIV/AIDS patients, and their attitude should meet professional expectations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Dicle University Dentistry students' knowledge levels and attitudes about HIV/AIDS. Methods: 353 students (353/561X 100= 63%) students that were divided into two groups as clinical (4th and 5th grades) and preclinical (1st, 2nd and 3rd grade) cohorts. The assessment was done using questionnaires consisting of four main topics voluntarily between the 2016-2017 academic years. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). When applicable, the data were assessed by t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The overall response rate to the questionnaire was 62.9 percent. It was noted that 89.99% of students knew HIV/AIDS could infect dental workers while 95.42% were well aware of the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS. Despite their awareness that HIV patients may infect them, they were poorly informed about the procedure of protection. Also, the information about the oral manifestations of the patient was limited. Conclusion: This study showed that dental students' knowledge in the east part of Turkey about HIV infection and prevention was not adequate.

Keywords

• AIDS
• Attitudes
• Dental students
• HIV
• Knowledge

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