Perceived Preparedness of Dental Academic Institutions to Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Country Survey

Nour Ammar, Nourhan M. Aly, Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan, Yousef Khader, Simin Z. Mohebbi, Sameh Attia, Hans-Peter Howaldt, Sebastian Boettger, Jorma Virtanen, Marwa Madi, Diah A. Maharani, Anton Rahardjo, Imran Khan, Ola B. Al-Batayneh, Maher Rashwan, Verica Pavlic, Smiljka Cicmil, Kanako Noritake, Gabriella Galluccio, Antonella Polimeni, Anas A. Shamala, Arheiam Arheiam, Davide Mancino, Prathip Phantumvanit, Jin-Bom Kim, Youn-Hee Choi, Mai A. Dama, Maha M. Abdelsalam, Jorge L. Castillo, Myat Nyan, Iyad Hussein, Easter Joury, Ana P. Vukovic, Alfredo Iandolo, Arthur M. Kemoli and Maha El Tantawi
Additional contact information
Nour Ammar: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21253, Egypt
Nourhan M. Aly: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21253, Egypt
Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan: Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 22005, Nigeria
Yousef Khader: Department of Public Health, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan
Simin Z. Mohebbi: Research Center for Caries Prevention, Dentistry Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14399-55991, Iran
Sameh Attia: Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Hans-Peter Howaldt: Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Sebastian Boettger: Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Jorma Virtanen: Department of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway
Marwa Madi: Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34221, Saudi Arabia
Diah A. Maharani: Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia, 16424 Depok, Indonesia
Anton Rahardjo: Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia, 16424 Depok, Indonesia
Imran Khan: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India
Ola B. Al-Batayneh: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan
Maher Rashwan: Center for Oral Bioengineering, Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
Verica Pavlic: Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, Institute of Dentistry, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Smiljka Cicmil: Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine Foca, University of East Sarajevo, 73300 Foca, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kanako Noritake: Oral Diagnosis and General Dentistry Department, Dental Hospital, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
Gabriella Galluccio: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Antonella Polimeni: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Anas A. Shamala: Department of Preventive and Biomedical Science, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Science and Technology, Sanaa 15201, Yemen
Arheiam Arheiam: Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya
Davide Mancino: Department of Endodontics and Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
Prathip Phantumvanit: Faculty of Dentistry, Thammasat University, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Jin-Bom Kim: Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea
Youn-Hee Choi: Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41940, Korea
Mai A. Dama: Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Arab American University, Jenin 240, Zababdeh 13, Palestine
Maha M. Abdelsalam: Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34221, Saudi Arabia
Jorge L. Castillo: Department of Dentistry for Children and Adolescents, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15102, Peru
Myat Nyan: Department of Prosthodontics, University of Dental Medicine, Mandalay 05041, Myanmar
Iyad Hussein: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai 800 MBRU (6278), United Arab Emirates
Easter Joury: Centre for Dental Public Health and Primary Care, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AD, UK
Ana P. Vukovic: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade, Beograd, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Alfredo Iandolo: Department of Endodontics, University of Salerno, 84080 Fisciano, Italy
Arthur M. Kemoli: Department of Paediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, School of Dental Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 30197-00100, Kenya
Maha El Tantawi: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21253, Egypt

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Dental academic institutions are affected by COVID-19. We assessed the perceived COVID-19 preparedness of these institutions and the characteristics of institutions with greater perceived preparedness. An international cross-sectional survey of dental academics was conducted from March to August 2020 to assess academics’ and institutional attributes, perceived preparedness, and availability of infection prevention and control (IPC) equipment. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified perceived preparedness components. Multilevel linear regression analysis assessed the association between perceived preparedness and fixed effect factors (academics’ and institutions’ attributes) with countries as random effect variable. Of the 1820 dental academics from 28 countries, 78.4% worked in public institutions and 75.2% reported temporary closure. PCA showed five components: clinic apparel, measures before and after patient care, institutional policies, and availability of IPC equipment. Significantly less perceived preparedness was reported in lower-middle income (LMICs) (B = ?1.31, p = 0.006) and upper-middle income (UMICs) (B = ?0.98, p = 0.02) countries than in high-income countries (HICs), in teaching only (B = ?0.55, p < 0.0001) and in research only (B = ?1.22, p = 0.003) than teaching and research institutions and in institutions receiving ?100 patients daily than those receiving >100 patients (B = ?0.38, p < 0.0001). More perceived preparedness was reported by academics with administrative roles (B = 0.59, p < 0.0001). Academics from low-income countries (LICs) and LMICs reported less availability of clinic apparel, IPC equipment, measures before patient care, and institutional policies but more measures during patient care. There was greater perceived preparedness in HICs and institutions with greater involvement in teaching, research, and patient care.

Keywords: COVID-19; academics; dental; surveys and questionnaires; pandemic; multilevel analysis; institution; preparedness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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