Attitudes and behavior of dental students concerning infection control rules: a study with a10-year interval.
The study compared the attitudes and behavior of 4th-year dental students regarding infection control rules in 1995 and 2005. Self-administrated questionnaires were applied to 592 students at 5 different dental schools in 1995 (n=350) and in 2005 (n=242). The chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used for statistical analysis of data. Significance level was set at p<0.05. The response rate was 90.3% in 1995 and 81.0% in 2005. There was no improvement in the use of rubber gloves (p=0.316), face masks (p=0.572) or gowns (p=0.862) between 1995 and 2005. There was a lesser frequency of the use of protective eyewear in 2005 (p<0.001). No student used the individual protection equipment correctly. There was a decrease in the sterilization of burs in 2005 when compared to 1995 (p<0.001). No student could describe the correct use of the autoclave. Disinfection and use of a dental chair barrier were done correctly by a minority of students in 1995 (2.8%) and 2005 (6.1%) (p=0.069). Most students correctly discarded perforating/cutting instruments in both years (p=0.749). The attitudes and behavior of dental students concerning infection control are worrisome. There was no improvement and, for some parameters, there was a worsening in the procedures over the time period evaluated.
Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. maurohenriqueabreu@ig.com.br
Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães de
MH
Abreu
Maria Claudia
MC
Lopes-Terra
Leila Fátima
LF
Braz
Alcione Lúcia
AL
Rímulo
Saul Martins
SM
Paiva
Isabela Almeida
IA
Pordeus
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D019552:Infection Control, Dental / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*