Knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among dental students of Jazan University, Kingdom Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of dental students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia; compare the differences in HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes between the genders and years of study. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among dental students of Jazan Univ...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Santhosh Kumar, Jyothi Tadakamadla, Ahmed Yahya Bin Hassan Areeshi, Hamza Abdul Wahab Mohammed Tobaigy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-01-01
Series:Saudi Dental Journal
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1013905217300767
Description
Summary:Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of dental students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia; compare the differences in HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes between the genders and years of study. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among dental students of Jazan University (N = 208; Response rate = 88.1%). Results: Most of the students (93%) knew “HIV/AIDS patients can infect dental workers” and 14% were unaware of the fact that HIV/AIDS patients can be diagnosed with oral manifestations. Less than half the subjects (47.6%) were confident on their ability to safely treat HIV/AIDS patients and only 28.8% of the study population believed that their knowledge about infection control is enough to treat HIV/AIDS patients. Males and 4th year students had significantly greater HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes than their comparative counterparts. Conclusions: HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes in dental students of Jazan University are comparable to other studies from Saudi but are poor when compared to other countries. Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Patients, Dental undergraduates, Knowledge, Attitudes
ISSN:1013-9052