title: Thai dental practitioners' knowledge and attitudes regarding patients with HIV.
abstract: To investigate the knowledge and attitudes of Thai dental practitioners regarding patients with HIV, a cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires was conducted. The questionnaires requested demographic information and included questions evaluating the knowledge and attitude of dental practitioners towards HIV. The results were analyzed using Scheffe method for multiple comparisons at the 95 percent confidence level. Out of 1,200 questionnaires sent, 446 questionnaires were returned (response rate 37.2 percent). The subjects included final (sixth)-year dental students (11.9 percent), general dentists (29.1 percent), specialist dentists (15.5 percent), dental hygienists (30.5 percent), and dental assistants (13 percent). More than 80 percent of the dental practitioners correctly answered the questions testing their basic knowledge of HIV such as routes of transmission and common opportunistic infections. However, knowledge about HIV pathogenesis, complications, and advances in HIV management was lacking. Dental hygienists and dental assistants had statistically significant lower scores in knowledge about HIV than other groups. Sixty-seven percent of dental practitioners said they feel worried when treating patients with HIV, and 20.4 percent said they would deny treatment for patients with HIV if possible. While knowledge about HIV may be adequate among dental practitioners in Thailand, greater effort should be put into emphasizing positive attitudes towards patients with HIV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Srinakharinwirot University, 114 Sukhumvit 23 Road, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. peted2000@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Sorasun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rungsiyanont
authors.forename: Aroonwan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lam-Ubol
authors.forename: Piamkamon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vacharotayangul
authors.forename: Kraisorn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sappayatosok
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003727:Dental Auxiliaries / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017742:Dental Care for Chronically Ill / Q000523:psychology*; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D016079:Refusal to Treat / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand
keywords: HIV/AIDS; Thailand; dental assistants; dental hygienists; dental students; dentists