Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice related to ergonomics among the students of three different dental schools in India: An original research

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Mohan Kumar P
. S. Sahitya 1
. Gautami S. Penmets
. S. Supraja 2
. Shivashankar Kengadaran 3
. A. Chaitanya 1

1 Department of Periodontics, Sibar Institute of Dental Sciences, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

2 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, St. Joseph Dental College, Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India

3 Public Health Dentistry, Vishnu Dental College, Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Dental students and practitioners are frequently prone to
work‑related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to the unawareness of ergonomic principles
when practicing dentistry. The aim of this study was to assess the dental student knowledge, attitude,
and practice toward ergonomics in three different dental schools.
METHODOLOGY: A cross‑sectional study was conducted among 1166 dental students from three
different dental schools of Andhra Pradesh, India, to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice
regarding ergonomics. All the participants were provided with prestructured questionnaire form
comprising 13 questions to know their knowledge, attitude, and practice related to ergonomics before
and after providing guidelines on ergonomic principles.
RESULTS: The majority of the dental students appreciate that the most affected regions due to
work‑related disorders were back (475 before and 559 after instructions), neck (354 and 420), hand
and wrist (205 and 117), and shoulder and elbow (132 and 70), respectively. Knowledge and practice
scores of dental students (mean and standard deviation) regarding WMSDs before and after applying
ergonomic principles were 3.92 ± 2.44, 1.29 ± 1.67 and 5.81 ± 0.87, 3.03 ± 0.60, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The present study provides an insight into ergonomics for dental students during
routine dental procedures. The knowledge, attitude, and practice related to ergonomics were
satisfactorily increased among the participants. Thus, ergonomic education of the dental health‑care
personnel must be focused in all the educational institutions and at continuing dental health programs by
delivering ergonomic principles both theoretically and practically and should be a part of the curriculum.

Keywords

Attitude
dental students
ergonomics
knowledge
musculoskeletal disorders 
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 10, Issue 10
October 2020
Pages 1-5

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