. Sri Priya Narayanan; . Hemamalini Rath; . Shilpa Mahapatra; . Manoranjan Mahakur
Volume 13, Issue 2 , February 2023, , Pages 1-11
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dentists are often overlooked resources in the workforce for disastermanagement (DM). To determine the knowledge, attitudes, willingness, and self‑perceivedeffectiveness ...
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BACKGROUND: Dentists are often overlooked resources in the workforce for disastermanagement (DM). To determine the knowledge, attitudes, willingness, and self‑perceivedeffectiveness to participate in DM among general dental practitioners (GDPs) of Eastern India.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web‑based online survey was conducted among 256 Dental Councilof India registered GDPs of Cuttack district, Odisha. The 45‑item survey comprised closed‑endedquestions on the demographic data of the participants, years of practice, previous experience in DM,and willingness to participate. Other domains assessed were the participants’ objective knowledgeof DM, attitude, and self‑perceived effectiveness toward participation during disasters. Data wereanalyzed descriptively, and the Chi‑square and Mann–Whitney U tests were used for statisticalanalysis, with a significance threshold of P < 0.05.RESULT: A total of 154 responses were analyzed, giving a response rate of 60.16%. The averageage was ≤35 years, 59.1% were BDS dentists and 78.6% had less than 10 years of practice. Only18% of them had previous experience with DM, and merely 3.2% were formerly trained; however,95.5% of the dentists were willing to participate in DM. The mean DM knowledge and attitude scoreswere 16.12 (CI = 15.4–16.8) and 5.79 (5.45–6.13), respectively. Knowledge and attitude showeda significant correlation. About 56% indicated that they would be able to respond effectively to adisastrous event. Significant associations were observed between age group (P = 0.008), yearsof clinical practice (P = 0.001), qualification (P = 0.012), previous participation (P = 0.029), andself‑perceived effectiveness.CONCLUSION: The knowledge regarding DM among respondents was at an average level. However,the majority of them were found to have a positive attitude toward participation in DM. Thus, includingDM in dental curricula and drills for dental professionals might prove beneficial as almost all GDPswere showing greater self‑perceived effectiveness and willingness to participate in disasters.
