A study to evaluate the awareness of hepatitis B disease among undergraduate dental students Palwankar Pooja, Professor & Head, Dhaliwal Jagjit Singh, Professor, Khinda Paramjit Kaur, Professor & Head, Uppal Ranjit Singh, Senior Lecturer, Sodhi Sachinjeet Kaur, Consultant Address for Correspondence: Dr. Pooja Palwankar, Prof and Head, Dept of Periodontology, Manav Rachna Dental College and Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana. E-mail: drpooja.p@rediffmail.com
Online published on 15 May, 2014. Abstract Background The hepatitis B virus is an extremely infectious yet, preventable blood borne pathogen, with an estimated 350 million chronic carriers worldwide and a prevalence of 10–18 percent in surgeons. Aim and Objectives The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of dental undergraduates about various aspects of hepatitis B and to evaluate the differences in the knowledge of BDS first year students and interns. Materials and Method This study enrolled 300 dental students. The participation of the students was voluntary. A self administered questionnaire of sixteen questions on various aspects of hepatitis B was distributed to the students to evaluate their knowledge. Results The results of the study suggest that the dental students had satisfactory knowledge about hepatitis B. The interns had more knowledge than the BDS first year students. Conclusion The dental students had satisfactory knowledge about hepatitis B but it further requires to be improved on certain aspects. Further research is essential to study the information level of dental students as to provide them with the novel methods of training to increment their knowledge. Top |