Community Dental Health

cover art

Cover Date:
December 2009
Print ISSN:
0265 539X
Vol:
26
Issue:
4

Assessment of HIV/AIDS awareness among 500 patients referred to the Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry

Objectives: To assess the knowledge of and attitudes to AIDS among patients referred to the Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry, Turkey. Design: A random sample of 500 patients participated and completed a questionnaire which comprised of six basic questions aimed at assessing the respondent’s general knowledge and attitude towards AIDS. The questionnaire also collected demographic information about each patient, including age, gender and level of education. Results: Out of 500 respondents, 65 (13%) had been tested for HIV. The majority of respondents, 479 (95.8%) were aware that AIDS was a transmissible disease, and of these, 410 (85.6%) knew that semen and blood were modes of transmission. In addition, 451 (90.2%) respondents were in favour of requiring AIDS testing for all patients undergoing dental treatment. Educational level was found to be the main factor affecting the number of correct answers regarding transmission of the disease. Conclusion: The study highlighted dental patients’ misconceptions, risk perceptions, and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS.

Key words: AIDS / HIV, modes of transmission, patient awareness.

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£
Page Start
222
Page End
226
Authors
K. Kamburoğlu, A.R.İ. Cebeci, C.S. Paksoy

Articles from this issue

  • Title
  • Pg. Start
  • Pg. End

  1. Editorial - Beyond water fluoridation; the emergence of functional foods for oral health
  2. 194
  3. 195

  1. Book Review - “Food constituents and oral health”
  2. 196
  3. 196

  1. Sense of coherence associates with oral and general health behaviours
  2. 197
  3. 203

  1. Evaluation of the direct and diffusion methods for the determination of fluoride content in table salt
  2. 204
  3. 210

  1. Fluoride toothpaste utilization behaviour among preschool children in Perlis, Malaysia
  2. 211
  3. 215

  1. Rural Mexican immigrant parents’ interpretation of children’s dental symptoms and decisions to seek treatment
  2. 216
  3. 221

  1. Assessment of HIV/AIDS awareness among 500 patients referred to the Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry
  2. 222
  3. 226

  1. Professional charges not reimbursed to dentists in the US: evidence from Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 1996.
  2. 227
  3. 233

  1. Quality of life in patients with dental conditions: comparing patients’ and providers’ evaluation
  2. 234
  3. 238

  1. Understanding politics? Some lessons from Swedish dentistry.
  2. 239
  3. 243

  1. Factors influencing the need for dental care amongst the elderly in the Republic of Ireland
  2. 244
  3. 249

  1. The periodontal health of Nepalese schoolchildren
  2. 250
  3. 256