| Summary: | Introduction
Tobacco dependence is a chronic disease
that often requires repeated intervention and multiple
attempts to quit. Effective treatment exists however, that
can significantly increase rates of long-term abstinence.
Our objective was to evaluate the perceptions and primary
domains of attitudes of dental students with reference to
tobacco cessation counselling.
Methods
The study involved 62 male students and 138
female students, for a total of 200 responses, in Andhra
Pradesh, India. Principle component analysis with varimax
rotation was used to identify inter-item associations, to check
for rudimentary items, and to establish underlying constructs
among items. Internal consistency and reliability were
assessed using Cranbach’s alpha. Two principle-component
analyses were conducted. In the first analysis with 20 items,
the KMO and Bartlett’s test showed a sampling adequacy
of 0.704 and significance with p<0.001. The internal
consistencies of the two components were 0.814 and 0.783,
respectively.
Results
The mean age of the dental students who
participated was 22.2±0.5 years. Lengthy clinical procedures
and lack of time to give cessation counselling at the dental
office were the main barriers among 66% of the study
subjects. Patient resistance to quitting tobacco use was
also another strong barrier identified by 52% students. In
comparison to previous research, the principle-component
analysis of our data revealed that effectiveness remained
as a discrete factor. Professional responsibility and scope of
dental practice collapsed into one factor, which we identified
as scope and responsibility. A new factor, identified as
prescriptions, also emerged as a significant domain.
Conclusions
Health care providers can play a vital role in
helping their patients attempt and realize tobacco cessation
as it was clearly evident that dental students were in
acceptance of tobacco cessation counselling as an integral
part of oral health delivery. The treatment of tobacco
dependence should be included in the dental curriculum.
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