Cross-infection control in general dental practice: dentists' behaviour compared with their knowledge and opinions.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Cross-infection control in general dental practice: dentists' behaviour compared with their knowledge and opinions.

Br Dent J. 1995 May 20;178(10):365-9. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/95298445
Hudson-Davies SC; Jones JH; Sarll DW; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Surgery,; University of Manchester Dental School.

Abstract: This study aimed to establish how dentists' knowledge, opinion and behaviour about cross-infection control were related and how they were affected by their ages, gender and the sizes of the practices in which they worked. In 1990/91 all general dental practitioners in the North Western Health Region of England were asked to complete a questionnaire about cross-infection control; 917 (75%) did so. Responses from all single-handed and one dentist selected randomly from each group practice were analysed (n = 546). The score to measure behaviour was based on guidelines on cross-infection control issued by the British Dental Association and this was correlated with scores for knowledge and opinion. The more knowledgeable not only tended to hold favourable opinions about the guidelines but also to practise them. Younger dentists were more knowledgeable about cross-infection control measures than older and more likely to wear gloves. Irrespective of age, all female dentists were more likely to wear gloves than their male colleagues. Single-handed dentists were less willing to treat carriers of HIV and HBV. Although 65% thought that recommended control procedures are feasible, 43% considered them prohibitively expensive.

Keywords: Adult Aged Attitude of Health Personnel Carrier State Chi-Square Distribution Comparative Study Cross Infection/PREVENTION & CONTROL Dental Care for Chronically Ill/PSYCHOLOGY Dentists/*PSYCHOLOGY England Female Gloves, Surgical/UTILIZATION Hepatitis B Human HIV Seropositivity *Infection Control *Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Male Middle Age Physician's Practice Patterns/*STATISTICS & NUMER DATA Questionnaires JOURNAL ARTICLE
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