Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour regarding Hepatitis B and Infection Control in Dental Clinical Students

Background and Aim: Nowadays infections formed by virus of hepatitis are the most important part of infectious disease in dentistry because of working in close contact with patients. The aim of this study is to determine the level of knowledge, attitude and behaviour among dental clinic students regarding Hepatitis B disease and standard isolation precautions in Ankara University Dentistry Faculty. Subjects and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional survey which was conducted on clinical students (4th and 5th year). A self-administered questionnaire which had three parts (knowledge, attitude and behaviour) was administered to the participants. The results were evaluated statistically by using “t-test” and “ChiSquare test”. Results: The results of the study indicated that students’ responses given to the knowledge part of the questionnaire have seventy seven percent success rates (77%). The results of the research showed that infection control measures were learned primarily by means of faculty lessons (99% of students) and then also by independent research on the Internet (60% of students). In addition general success rate of female students was higher (71.6%) than male students’ (46.9%), which was statistically significant (p≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Present study showed that dental clinical students showed moderate adherence to standard infection control precautions among dental clinical students. The level of knowledge was high and attitude was acceptable, however, the daily practice, i.e. the clinical behavior of students was moderate. Dental clinical students and also the other dental professions should apply all standard procedures and conventions in their daily practice.