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English Title

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION AMONG DENTISTS

Disciplines

Dentistry | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

Dentists are at high risk for contracting Hepatitis B virus (HBV), which leads to severe liver disease. Proper infection control measures are supposed to be in place to avoid transmission, especially with the exposure to blood that dentists are at risk of. A cross-sectional study with quantitative method using a valid research questionnaire. A convenience sample of 101 dentists from around Lebanon participated in the study. The results showed that 83% of the participating dentists were vaccinated yet only 21% received the required dose for prevention against HBV. The dentists had moderate to high knowledge of HBV infection control measures, negative attitudes towards treating HBV exposed patients, as well as good practices of standard precautions. The results showed that there was a difference association between gender and vaccination (P=0.04). The results also showed that there was no remarkable association between years of experience and HBV infection prevention knowledge, however there was a significant association between gender, vaccination status and practices if infection control measures (P=0.00). The dentists report good KPA of infection control measures yet reinforcement is needed to ensure proper prevention of transmission of HBV in dental practice.

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