Perception, attitude and behavioral changes regarding Swine-flu outbreak among patients attending OPD in a dental college at Ghaziabad, India

Introduction: Swine flu caused by novel Influenza A H1N1 virus had led to considerable chaos and panic among common people globally. During a communicable disease upsurge, it is important to find out as much as possible about the concerns, perceptions, attitude and behavior of the public. Such credible information could be crucial for the betterment of health campaigns by public health officials and clinicians. Aim: To study, perception, attitude and behavioral changes regarding Swine-Influenza outbreak among patients attending dental OPD in a dental college, located at Ghaziabad, India. Materials & Method: On obtaining approval from Institutional authority, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 300 patients attending OPD during the month of April-May 2015. After the pilot survey a pretested validated questionnaire translated in vernacular language was used by a single calibrated interviewer to conduct the study. Study subjects having participatory consent were interviewed ensuring confidentiality. Perception, attitude and behavioral changes about swine-flu were assessed. The data entry and statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 20 Version. Results: All studied population heard about the disease as a name. The primary source for getting a perception about Swine-flu was TV. The level of satisfactory perception, positive attitude and good practice of studied population where directly related to their socio-economic status. Hand washing and quarantine were reported as most effective measures for prevention. Conclusion: Dentists and other public health communicators should especially focus on promoting hand hygiene and coughing/sneezing etiquettes while providing health education to the community.