Operative Dentistry Department, Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Main Murree Road, Bharakahu, Islamabad, Pakistan.
BMC Oral Health. 2021 Feb 10;21(1):59. doi: 10.1186/s12903-021-01413-6.
The COVID-19 outbreak which developed into a public health crisis has raised concerns regarding infection control among health care workers particularly dentists all over the world. The aim of this survey was to assess awareness, fear and compliance with practice modification according to CDC guidelines during COVID-19 pandemic among Pakistani dentists.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed on Google Forms and was distributed among all seven regions of Pakistan through social media and WhatsApp after carrying out the reliability analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0. Question wise analysis using frequencies and percentages was done. Pearson correlation and Kruskal Wallis test was applied to check association of awareness level with qualification and workplace setting.
A total of 313 dentists participated and submitted the form online from all regions of Pakistan. The response rate was quite satisfactory as Pakistan was under an official lockdown and most of the hospitals/clinics were either closed or operating with minimum staff. Most of the dentists were well aware of the CDC guidelines. However, 75% of the dentists were afraid of getting infected and 88% of them were anxious while providing treatment. Sixty-eight percent of them were avoiding aerosol generating procedures and only 28% were using rubber dam isolation. Regional analysis was also done and areas of poor compliance were identified. Only 38.5% dentists in Balochistan were using N95 masks and none of the dentists (0%) were using rubber dam isolation. A large number of dentists (80.9%) were afraid and wanted to close their dental practice in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Furthermore, a positive correlation was seen between the designation and awareness level (p = 0.01). Similarly, significant correlation (p = 0.03) was seen between qualification and workplace setting.
The results of the study can help devise strategies to ensure adherence with infection control guidelines in regions with poor compliance. Initiation of awareness programs to help overcome fear and train the faculty and staff in the targeted areas would greatly contribute towards reducing the spread of infection and thus lowering the healthcare burden in a third world country like Pakistan.
新冠疫情的爆发已演变成一场公共卫生危机，引起了全球范围内医护人员（尤其是牙医）对感染控制的关注。本研究旨在评估在新冠疫情大流行期间，巴基斯坦牙医对疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）指南的知晓、恐惧和遵循情况。
本研究采用横断面研究，通过在线问卷调查的方式进行。问卷在 Google Forms 上设计，在经过信度分析后，通过社交媒体和 WhatsApp 在巴基斯坦的七个地区进行分发。使用 SPSS 20.0 进行统计分析。使用频率和百分比进行问题分析。采用 Pearson 相关性分析和 Kruskal Wallis 检验来检查知晓水平与资格和工作场所设置的相关性。
共有来自巴基斯坦所有地区的 313 名牙医参与并在线提交了表格。响应率相当令人满意，因为当时巴基斯坦正处于官方封锁状态，大多数医院/诊所要么关闭，要么以最低人员配置运营。大多数牙医都很清楚 CDC 指南。然而，75%的牙医担心被感染，88%的牙医在提供治疗时感到焦虑。他们中有 68%的人避免使用产生气溶胶的程序，只有 28%的人使用橡皮障隔离。还进行了区域分析，并确定了不符合规定的区域。在俾路支省，只有 38.5%的牙医使用 N95 口罩，没有一名牙医（0%）使用橡皮障隔离。在开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦，大量牙医（80.9%）感到恐惧，并希望关闭他们的牙科诊所。此外，还发现职称与知晓水平之间存在正相关（p=0.01）。同样，在资格和工作场所设置之间也存在显著相关性（p=0.03）。
本研究结果可以帮助制定策略，以确保在不符合规定的地区遵守感染控制指南。在目标地区启动提高认识的计划，帮助克服恐惧并培训教职员工，这将极大地有助于减少感染的传播，从而降低像巴基斯坦这样的第三世界国家的医疗保健负担。
