Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours of Arab Dental Students: Multi-National Cross-Sectional Study and Literature Analysis 2000–2020

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Nuraldeen Maher Al-Khanati¹  Mazen Zenati¹  Sameh Attia²  Abanoub Riad³  Martin Krsek³  Nèziha Ben Abdesslem⁴  Julien Issa⁵ 

[1] Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Syrian Private University, Damascus 368, Syria;Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Justus-Liebig-University, Klinikstrasse 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany;Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic;Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Monastir, Monastir 5019, Tunisia;Faculty of Dentistry, Beirut Arab University, Tarik El Jadida, Beirut 11-50-20, Lebanon;

关键词: Arab Countries;    dental education;    dental students;    health knowledge;    attitudes;    practice;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph19031658

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Dental students are the future leaders of oral health in their respective communities; therefore, their oral health-related attitudes and behaviours are of practical value for primary disease prevention. The present study aimed to evaluate oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of dental students in Arab countries and explore the potential sociodemographic predictors of their oral health outcomes. A multi-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted during the academic year 2019/2020 in three Arab countries: Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia. The study used a validated Arabic version of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) composed of original twenty items that assess the level of oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours, and four additional dichotomous items related to tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, problematic internet use, and regular dental check-up The HU-DBI score ranges between 0 and 12. A total of 1430 students took part in this study, out of which 60.8% were females, 57.8% were enrolled in clinical years, 24.5% were tobacco smokers, 7.2% were alcohol drinkers, and 87% reported internet addiction. The mean HU-DBI score was 6.31 ± 1.84, with Lebanon having the highest score (6.67 ± 1.83), followed by Syria (6.38 ± 1.83) and Tunisia (6.05 ± 1.83). Clinical students (6.78 ± 1.70) had higher HU-DBI scores than their preclinical peers (5.97 ± 1.86). The year-over-year analysis revealed that dental public health and preventive dentistry courses had significantly and positively impacted the undergraduate students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. The gender-based differences were not statistically significant, with a modest trend favouring males, especially oral health behaviours. Tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and problematic internet use were associated with lower HU-DBI scores. In the Arab world, the economic rank of the country where the dental students live/study was weakly correlated with the students’ mean HU-DBI score.

【 授权许可】

Unknown