Assessing the levels of HIV-related knowledge and attitudes toward HIV-infected patients among undergraduate dental students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose

Worldwide, in the last decade, the numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have drastically decreased. Despite that, around 18 million infected individuals receive antiretroviral therapy and thus tend to live longer. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the level of HIV-related knowledge among undergraduate dental students at Ain Shams University (ASU) in Cairo, Egypt and to determine their attitudes toward treating HIV-positive patients.

Methods

The study sample included 247 undergraduate dental students of third, fourth, and fifth academic years at the Faculty of Dentistry, ASU who were randomly selected to participate in this survey. Data were collected using a self-administrated anonymous questionnaire. Chi square and ANOVA tests were used to measure differences in the level of knowledge and attitudes among students of the 3 years. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed with 95% confidence interval.

Results

Within the students’ population, around 94% incorrectly considered dentists to be at high risk of acquiring HIV infection and 47% believed that saliva is a vehicle for its transmission. Moreover, the majority of students were unaware of the association between HIV and common oral manifestations such as oral candida, Kaposi sarcoma, and leukoplakia. Although 69% of the students were willing to deliver oral care to people living with HIV (PLHIV), only 33% perceived themselves knowledgeable enough to do so.

Conclusion

Dental students were not adequately prepared to recognize and manage HIV-positive individuals. Thus, better education and training are required to raise their levels of HIV-related knowledge and enhance their capabilities to treat PLHIV.

Keywords:

• HIV
• dental students
• behavior
• willingness to treat
• Egypt

Acknowledgments

This study was carried out in collaboration and with support from the Center for Development Services, an Egyptian Private Sector company sponsoring many health-related initiatives in Egypt. The authors of the paper would like to express their sincere gratitude to all the dental students who willingly completed the survey, the volunteers who assisted in data collection, and the principals at the Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University, who facilitated conduction of the survey. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Food Programme.

Author contributions

All authors contributed toward data analysis, drafting and critically revising the paper, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. RKAEF, AA, and ZF developed the concept for this research. RKAEF and AA designed the survey tool and supervised the process of data collection; ZF conducted the software programing for data management; and MAH carried out the statistical analysis of the study data. RKAEF wrote the study protocol and the manuscript; AA participated in writing the initial draft; and MAH, AA, and ZF reviewed and edited the final manuscript independently until a consensus was reached about the final version.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.