Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
Faculty of Dentistry, Dijlah University College, Baghdad, Iraq.
Int J Dent Hyg. 2021 Aug;19(3):295-304. doi: 10.1111/idh.12502. Epub 2021 Apr 8.
To assess the impact of COVID-19 on oral hygiene (OH) awareness, attitude towards dental treatment, fear of infection and economic impact in the Middle East.
This survey was performed by online distribution of questionnaires in three countries in the Middle East (Jordan, Iraq and Egypt). The questionnaire consisted of five sections: the first section was aimed at collecting demographic data and the rest sections used to assess OH awareness, attitude towards dental treatment, degree of fear and economic impact of COVID-19. The answers were either multiple choice, closed-end (Yes or No) or 5-point Likert scale for the last four sections.
A total of 3782 respondents completed the questionnaire. Overall, OH awareness was low (mean ±SD; 1.84 ± 1.03), while attitude towards dental treatment (5.04 ± 1.68) and economic impact (11.29 ± 4.37) were moderately affected. In addition, fear of infection showed moderately high level (14.04 ± 4.11). All subgroups of the demographic variables showed significant differences among them in relation to OH awareness and attitude towards dental treatment. The regression model suggested country, gender, age, education level, income level and fear as predictors for OH awareness (R 0.036) and attitude towards dental care (R 0.141).
The pandemic negatively impacted the level of OH awareness. However, the attitude towards dental treatment was moderately affected. Increasing public fear and compromised economy influenced OH awareness and the attitude towards dental treatment.
评估 COVID-19 对中东地区口腔卫生（OH）意识、对牙科治疗的态度、对感染的恐惧和经济影响。
本研究通过在中东的三个国家（约旦、伊拉克和埃及）在线分发问卷进行。问卷包括五个部分：第一部分旨在收集人口统计学数据，其余部分用于评估 OH 意识、对牙科治疗的态度、对感染的恐惧程度和 COVID-19 的经济影响。答案要么是多项选择，要么是封闭式（是或否），要么是后四个部分的 5 点李克特量表。
共有 3782 名受访者完成了问卷。总体而言，OH 意识较低（平均值±标准差；1.84±1.03），而对牙科治疗的态度（5.04±1.68）和经济影响（11.29±4.37）受到中度影响。此外，对感染的恐惧程度显示出中度高水平（14.04±4.11）。所有人口统计学变量的亚组在 OH 意识和对牙科治疗的态度方面均存在显著差异。回归模型表明，国家、性别、年龄、教育水平、收入水平和恐惧是 OH 意识（R 0.036）和对牙科护理态度（R 0.141）的预测因素。
大流行对 OH 意识水平产生了负面影响。然而，对牙科治疗的态度受到中度影响。公众恐惧情绪增加和经济受损影响了 OH 意识和对牙科治疗的态度。
