Gambhir Ramandeep Singh, Kumar Mandeep, Singh Gurminder, Singh Arshdeep, Kaur Amanpreet
Department of Public Health Dentistry, BRS Dental College and Hospital, Panchkula, India.
Department of Prosthodontics, Rayat and Bahra Dental College a and Hospital, Mohali, India.
J Educ Health Promot. 2018 Jan 10;7:7. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_34_17. eCollection 2018.
Dental health-care personnel are at an increased risk toward infections caused by various microorganisms including hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses (HCV). A dentist can play an important role in the prevention of HCV by considering every patient as a potential carrier for hepatitis. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the knowledge and awareness of dental health-care professionals regarding various aspects of HCV.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 247 private dental practitioners of tricity. A close-ended self-structured questionnaire was administered which contained 12 questions on knowledge and awareness regarding HCV infection keeping in view the time constraints. Categorization of knowledge scores was done at three levels - poor, moderate, and good. Statistical analysis was done using ANOVA and Student's -test.
Nearly 96% (102) of postgraduates and 84% (117) of graduates had heard about HCV. 45.5% (112) had poor knowledge scores, 33.6% (83) had moderate knowledge scores, and only 21% (52) of participants had good knowledge scores. On the opinion of treating an HCV-infected patient by a dentist, only 61% (65) of postgraduates and 46% (64) of graduates agreed. There was statistically significant association of mean knowledge scores with gender, education level, and experience ( < 0.05).
Majority of the dental professionals lacked knowledge regarding HCV infection and were not fully aware regarding certain aspects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for modification of the existing dental curriculum so that knowledge regarding these diseases can be imparted during graduation.
牙科保健人员感染包括乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）在内的各种微生物的风险增加。牙医可通过将每位患者视为潜在的肝炎携带者，在预防HCV方面发挥重要作用。因此，本研究旨在评估牙科保健专业人员对HCV各个方面的知识和认识。
对三座城市的247名私人牙科从业者进行了一项横断面研究。发放了一份封闭式自填式问卷，考虑到时间限制，其中包含12个关于HCV感染知识和认识的问题。知识得分分为三个水平——差、中等和良好。使用方差分析和学生t检验进行统计分析。
近96%（102）的研究生和84%（117）的毕业生听说过HCV。45.5%（112）的人知识得分差，33.6%（83）的人知识得分中等，只有21%（52）的参与者知识得分良好。在牙医治疗HCV感染患者的意见方面，只有61%（65）的研究生和46%（64）的毕业生表示同意。平均知识得分与性别、教育水平和经验之间存在统计学显著关联（P<0.05）。
大多数牙科专业人员缺乏关于HCV感染的知识，对某些方面也不完全了解。因此，迫切需要修改现有的牙科课程，以便在毕业期间传授关于这些疾病的知识。
