Knowledge and Perceptions Regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) among Pediatric Dentists during Lockdown Period

Sreekanth Kumar Mallineni, Sivakumar Nuvvula, Jaya Chandra Bhumireddy, Ahmad Faisal Ismail, Priya Verma, Rishitha Sajja, Abdullah Alassaf, Basim Almulhim, Sara Alghamdi, Anupam Saha, Virinder Goyal and Srinivas Namineni
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Sreekanth Kumar Mallineni: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Sivakumar Nuvvula: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore 524003, Andhra Pradesh, India
Jaya Chandra Bhumireddy: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Saraswati Dhanwantri Dental College and Hospital & Post Graduate Research Institute, Parbhani 431401, Maharashtra, India
Ahmad Faisal Ismail: Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Kulliyyah of Dentistry, International Islamic University Malaysia, Gombak 25200, Selangor, Malaysia
Priya Verma: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Bhabha Institute of Dental Sciences, Bhopal 462026, Madhya Pradesh, India
Rishitha Sajja: Bristol Myers Squibb, Pennington, NJ 07922, USA
Abdullah Alassaf: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Basim Almulhim: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Sara Alghamdi: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Anupam Saha: Pediatric Dentistry, Sairam Dental Hospital, Calcutta 700012, West Bengal, India
Virinder Goyal: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Gurunanak Dev Dental College, Patiala 148028, Punjab, India
Srinivas Namineni: Pediatric Dentistry, Rainbow Hospitals, Hyderabad 500034, Telangana, India

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Aim: To assess the knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 among pediatric dentists based on their dependent source of information. Methods: A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire with 23 questions was sent via Google forms to pediatric dentists. All participants were divided into three groups [postgraduate residents (PGs), private practitioners (PP), and faculty (F)]. The comparison of knowledge and perception scores was made based on occupation, source of information, and descriptive statistics used for the analysis using SPSS 21.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: A total of 291 pediatric dentists completed the survey, and the majority of them were females (65%). Overall, good mean scores were obtained for knowledge (9.2 ± 1.07) and perceptions (5.6 ± 1.5). The majority of the participants used health authorities (45%) to obtain updates on COVID-19, while social media (35.1%) and both (19.6%) accounted for the next two. A statistically significant difference ( p < 0.05) was found among different pediatric dentists groups for relying on the source of information. Conclusion: Overall good pediatric dentists showed sufficient knowledge regarding COVID-19. The pediatric dentists’ age, occupation, and source of information influenced knowledge regarding COVID-19, whereas perceptions were influenced by age and gender of the participants. Health authorities successfully educated pediatric dentists than the social media

Keywords: coronavirus; COVID-19; dentistry; knowledge; N95; Pediatric Dentistry; perceptions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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