Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Centers, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
PLoS One. 2020 Aug 13;15(8):e0237490. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237490. eCollection 2020.
There is high risk of contamination with COVID-19 virus during routine dental procedures and infection control is crucial. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with Covid-19 preventive behaviors among oral health care providers using an extended parallel process model (EPPM).
In a cross-sectional study, short text message invite surveys were sent to 870 oral health care providers in west part of Iran. Data were collected through validated self-report EPPM questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fishers exact tests were used for data analysis.
In total, 300 completed questionnaires were received and the mean age of respondents was 29.89 ± 11.17 years (range: 20-75 years). Among the study population, 284 (94.67%) perceived the threat of infection highly. Washing hands frequently with water and soap and use of hand sanitizer was reported by 93.33%, of participants. Age (P = 0.010), sex (P = 0.002) and occupation field (P = 0.010) were significantly associated with danger control responses. Data identified that those oral health care providers that were on the danger control response adopted preventive behaviors more strictly than those on fear control response.
The results of this study showed how degrees of perceived threat and perceived efficacy influenced oral health providers' willingness to perform recommended health behaviors. These findings can assist public health agencies in developing educational programs specifically designed for promoting preventive behaviors among oral health providers in pandemic situations.
在常规牙科操作过程中存在 COVID-19 病毒污染的高风险，感染控制至关重要。本研究旨在使用扩展平行过程模型（EPPM）确定与口腔保健提供者预防 COVID-19 行为相关的因素。
在一项横断面研究中，向伊朗西部的 870 名口腔保健提供者发送了简短的短信邀请调查。通过经过验证的 EPPM 问卷收集数据。使用描述性统计、卡方检验和 Fisher 精确检验进行数据分析。
共收到 300 份完整的问卷，受访者的平均年龄为 29.89 ± 11.17 岁（范围：20-75 岁）。在所研究的人群中，284 人（94.67%）高度感知感染的威胁。93.33%的参与者经常用肥皂和水洗手，使用洗手液。年龄（P = 0.010）、性别（P = 0.002）和职业领域（P = 0.010）与危险控制反应显著相关。数据表明，那些处于危险控制反应的口腔保健提供者比处于恐惧控制反应的口腔保健提供者更严格地采取预防措施。
本研究结果表明，感知威胁和感知效能的程度如何影响口腔保健提供者执行推荐健康行为的意愿。这些发现可以帮助公共卫生机构制定专门针对大流行情况下促进口腔保健提供者预防行为的教育计划。
