Aims: The present aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding infection control among dental undergraduate students of Mumbai, India.
Introduction: Healthcare personnel are always susceptible to
infectious diseases if inadequate infection control measures are undertaken. In
a dental setup, transmission occurs through air, blood, saliva droplets, or
improper sterilization of instruments. Despite various standardized protocols
in infection control, dental undergraduate students fail to obey the same. Transmission of various existing and emerging
new infections can easily occur in dental clinics through various courses which
include direct contact with blood, oral fluids, other secretions, indirect
contact with contaminated instruments, operatory instruments, and contact with
airborne contaminants present in either droplet splatter.
Methods: A cross‑sectional questionnaire‑based
study comprising a 13‑point close‑ended, self‑administered
questionnaire was prepared and distributed among interns, final‑year
dental students, and 3rd‑year dental students across six
dental colleges. The questions were divided into three categories: knowledge,
attitude, and practice. The responses were used for data collection and
accordingly, results were made. The analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics
version 22. The statistical significance was considered at P ≤ 0.05. Results: A
total of 851 undergraduate students were assessed for knowledge, attitude, and
practice toward infection control. Only 40% of the interns, 40% of the final‑year
students, and 42% of the 3rd‑year students had precise
knowledge about infection control measures. Twenty‑four percent
of the interns, 27% of the final‑year students, and 25% of the 3rd‑year
students showed accurate attitudes toward infection control. Finally, 41% of
the interns, 44% of the final‑year students, and 39% of the 3rd‑year
students inculcated the right practice in controlling infection. Strict
monitoring of the routine use of infection control guidelines should be adhered
to by all dental schools for the safety of patients and healthcare workers.
This will help the dental undergraduate students to instil a positive attitude
towards infection control hence improving their quality of dental practice and
life. More such surveys should be carried out to authenticate our results
thereby accomplishing the goal of infection-free practice.
Conclusion: Infection control is essential to reduce the
risk of occupational infection to the practitioner and the auxiliary staff.
Dental schools should give more emphasis on infection control protocols.
Author(s) Details:
Charu Girotra
Department of Plastic Surgery,
Deccan College of Medical Sciences and Allied Hospitals, Hyderabad, India.
Siddharth Acharya
Department of Plastic Surgery,
Deccan College of Medical Sciences and Allied Hospitals, Hyderabad, India.
Omkar Shetty,
Department of Plastic Surgery, Deccan College of Medical Sciences
and Allied Hospitals, Hyderabad, India.
Siddhi Savla
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Temple University, College of
Public Health, Philadelphia, United
States.
Mahinoor Punjani
Happy 32 Dental and Cosmetic Clinic, Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra,
India.
Tanmik Shah
Department of Population Health, New York University, Grossman School of
Medicine, New York, United States.
Please see the link here: https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nvmms/v8/11932F
