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Changes in dentists' infection control practices, knowledge, and attitudes about HIV over a 2-year period
1Faculty of Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Objective:
To investigate changes in the infection control practices, attitudes, and knowledge of dentists as they relate to HIV/AIDS:
Study Design:
A comparison of responses to surveys conducted in 1992 (n = 258) and 1994 (n = 262) with the use of univariate/multivariate analyses and McNemar's test for paired data.
Results:
The response rate were > 70%. There were significant increases in reports of continuing education related to HIV/AIDS, heat sterilization of handpieces, use of masks, and knowledge of risk of HIV infection after a needlestick injury. Significantly fewer respondents reported concerns about staff fears about HIV/AIDS: Reports of willingness to treat patients with HIV increased from 68% to 77%. The best predictors of willingness to treat changed from primarily infection control variables to lack of concern with respect to risk or loss of patients when treating persons with HIV.
Conclusions:
Increased use of infection control procedures and knowledge may be partly attributable to the introduction of mandatory continuing education in 1993.