Assessment of knowledge and attitude-based questionnaire of HIV/AIDS by dental students

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of dental students towards HIV/AIDS patients. Method: The cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 dental students of different years at Faculty of Dental Science, King George's Medical University, Lucknow. A self-designed questionnaire of 23 questions was prepared to assess the knowledge and attitude of dental students towards HIV/AIDS patients and the data was evaluated by Student t test. Result: Total 100 students participated in the survey, all of them were aware of meaning of HIV and its transmission through blood. Overall, the mean knowledge score of dental students was 68.90 ± 7.43 while the mean attitude score was 69.75 ± 13.78. On comparing the knowledge and attitude level among different classes of dental students it was found that MDS final year students had maximum mean knowledge 71.07 ± 7.18 and maximum mean attitude 76.00 ± 8.00. Conclusion: The overall study concluded that the dental students had a positive attitude towards patients living with HIV/AIDS and they were willing to help these patients with oral diagnosis and treatment. They also had basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its mode of transmissions.