Abstract

Awad S. Alsamghan

In Saudi Arabia, according to recent epidemiological data from Ministry of Health 2009, number of HIV/AIDS cases are 15213. One of the most serious threats that dental students face during their clinical training, is the possibility of exposure to blood-borne pathogens, with the attendant risk of infection with HIV. The objective of this study is to assess the level of knowledge and attitude toward. This was a cross sectional analytic study among all male students of the Dental College of King Khalid University, who agreed to participate in the study. A validated self-administered anonymous questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire includes four major categories: demographic variables, eighteen closed questions about knowledge of HIV infection, fifteen questions about oral manifestations of Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and seventeen questions addressed attitudes regarding treating HIV-positive patients, legal aspects, the right of HIV-positive health personnel to practice, and willingness to treat. Out of 400 male dental students invited to participate in the study, 363 returned filled questionnaire giving a response rate of 90.8%. Their age ranged between 20 and 29 years with a mean of 23.6 ± 1.6 years. The total mean knowledge score was 62.7% (good). Insufficient total knowledge score was reported among almost one-third of the dental students (34.7%). The overall mean attitude score was 66.4 ± 6.8%. The attitude in 9.1% was positive, 90.1% negative, and 0.8% passive. Pearson correlation coefficient showed students with higher knowledge scores had significantly more positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients (r=0.223, p<0.001). The results of the present study revealed that king Khalid university (KKU) dental students have deficiencies with respect to their knowledge and amount of information received on HIV and AIDS related topics. The results indicate that dental students in KKU are less well prepared for their future task of treating patients with HIV infection and AIDS and highlight a need for improving the dental school curriculum regarding HIV and AIDS.