Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Science, University of Milan, Via Beldiletto 1, I-20142, Milan, Italy.
Department of Surgery, Microsurgery and Medicine Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro, I-07100, Sassari, Italy.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2020 Oct 31;20(1):994. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-05842-x.
This online cross-sectional survey assesses the signs/symptoms, the protective measures taken and the awareness and risk perception regarding COVID-19 among Italian dental hygienists. All Italian dental hygienists were invited to participate. The ad hoc online questionnaire was divided into four domains: personal data, protective measures (-before patient arrival; -in the waiting room; -in the operating room) and PPE, awareness and risk perception.
Two-thousand-seven-hundred-ninety-eight subjects participated. Only 0.25% of the sample was positive to the virus. Sense of fatigue (8.19%), headache (7.81%) and sore throat (7.32%) were the most common symptoms. A statistically significant trend across the areas with a different prevalence of COVID-19 was observed related to the number of signs/symptoms (areas z = 6.38 p < 0.01). Overall, 90.55% of the sample used protective glasses or visor, 90.10% disposable gloves and 82.80% surgical mask. Regarding the confidence to avoid the infection, a statistically significant difference was found among dental hygienists belonging to the 3 years-professional-experiences groups who worked in the high COVID-19 prevalence area. The findings of this survey show that Italian dental hygienists have modified their working habits according to the professional risk related to the current pandemic and they seem correctly prepared to face the risk of a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
本在线横断面调查评估了意大利牙科保健员在 COVID-19 期间出现的症状/体征、采取的防护措施以及对 COVID-19 的认识和风险感知。邀请所有意大利牙科保健员参加。专门的在线问卷分为四个部分：个人数据、防护措施（-在患者到达前；-在候诊室；-在手术室）和个人防护设备、意识和风险感知。
共有 2798 名受试者参加。样本中只有 0.25%的人病毒检测呈阳性。最常见的症状是疲劳感（8.19%）、头痛（7.81%）和喉咙痛（7.32%）。在 COVID-19 流行程度不同的地区，与症状/体征数量相关的趋势存在统计学意义（地区 z=6.38，p<0.01）。总体而言，90.55%的样本使用护目镜或面罩，90.10%使用一次性手套，82.80%使用外科口罩。关于避免感染的信心，在从事高 COVID-19 流行地区工作的具有 3 年专业经验的牙科保健员中发现了统计学上的显著差异。这项调查的结果表明，意大利牙科保健员根据与当前大流行相关的职业风险改变了他们的工作习惯，他们似乎已经做好了应对 SARS-CoV-2 感染风险的准备。
