Brazilian dental students' knowledge and attitudes towards HIV infection.
The purpose of this study was to investigate a group of Brazilian dental students' knowledge about HIV infection, the infection control measures utilized by the dental students, and students' attitudes towards treating HIV/AIDS patients. The study population consisted of 250 dental students from Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil, who were treating patients in clinics of the university and extra-mural rotations at the time of the study. The survey instrument was a self-administered questionnaire which consisted of 32 pre-coded questions and two open-ended questions. The overall response rate to the questionnaire was 54%. More than 80% of respondents (N = 135) considered every dental patient a potential HIV carrier. A majority of the students were aware of the association between HIV and Kaposi's sarcoma (92.5%), oral candidiasis (90.3%) and oral hairy leukoplakia (52.7%). A gender difference was observed in students' knowledge of oral manifestations and infection control measures, with females having better knowledge than males (p < 0.05). Because of certain inadequacies in knowledge and infection control practices among respondents, a curriculum focusing on the management of HIV/AIDS, including infection control and legal issues is recommended.
Oliveira
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Department of Dental Public Health, Dental Branch University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77225, USA.
Narendran
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Falcão
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A
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001938:Brazil; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000523:psychology; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012307:Risk Factors; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires