Knowledge and Attitude of Dentists toward Delta Strain of COVID-19 Virus in Al-Ramady, Iraq

  • Ahmed Makki A Al-Qarakhli College of Dentistry, Anbar University, Iraq.
  • Hasain Hamed Khalef Al-Ogaidi Ministry of Planning/Central Statistics organization, Iraq.
  • Yahya Adel Abd College of Dentistry, Anbar University, Iraq.
Keywords: COVID-19, Pandemic, New Strain, Prevention, Dentists

Abstract

Background: The infection started in China soon expanded to become a global pandemic in 2020. Due to the emergence of variants, the world has witnessed many waves of cases and deaths. Successful control and reduction of deaths require changing the behaviour, which is influenced by the knowledge, attitude and practices of the people.

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of dentists toward the delta strain of the COVID-19 virus in Al-Ramady, Iraq.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study has been carried out by a questionnaire constructed for the purpose of the study distributed by the internet to 144 dentists working in Al-Ramadi city.

Results: A total of 112 dentists participated in this study, 58.9% were male. More than half of them gain their knowledge from social media. About the best measure in prevention 33.9% answered by “Distancing†and 28.6% by “Wearing maskâ€. About one-third of them thought that the main presenting feature was cough, followed by fever at a rate of 26.8%. 58.9% of the interviewed dentists believed that the new strain was more dangerous and 78.6% believed that it was a more transmissible strain. That raised the rate of fear from getting an infection with the new strain of the virus to 80.4% and made a fear from contacting people reach (89.3%).
Conclusion: Social media is an important source of knowledge for dentists who were aware of the new strain. They perceived the disease as dangerous and transmissible.

How to cite this article:
AI-Qarakhli AMA, Al-Ogaidi HHK, Abd YA. Knowledge and Attitude of Dentists toward Delta Strain of COVID-19 Virus in Al-Ramady, Iraq. Special Issue - COVID-19 & Other Communicable Disease. 2022;124-127.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202220

References

Rothana HA, Byrareddy SN. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. J Autoimmun. 2020 May;109:102433. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Li R, Pei S, Chen B, Song Y, Zhang T, Yang W, Shaman J. Substantial undocumented infection facilitates the rapid dissemination of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Science. 2020; 368, 489-93. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Rahman A, Sathi NJ. Knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices toward COVID-19 among Bangladeshi internet users. Electron J Gen Med. 2020;17(5):em245. [Google Scholar]

Erfani A, Shahriarirad R, Ranjbar K, Mirahmadizadeh A, Moghadami M. Knowledge, attitude and practice toward the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: a population-based survey in Iran. Bull World Health Organ. 2020. [Google Scholar]

Asraf H, Garima T, Singh BM, Ram R, Tripti RP. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Nepalese residents: a quick online cross-sectional survey. Asian J Med Sci. 2020;11(3). [Google Scholar]

Akalu Y, Ayelign B, Molla MD. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 among chronic disease patients at Addis Zemen hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Infect Drug Resis. 2020;13: 1949-60. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Lee M, You M. Psychological and behavioral responses in South Korea during the early stages of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(9):2977. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Lee M, Kang B, You M. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in South Korea. BMC Public Health. 2021 Feb;21:295. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Bhagavathula AS, Aldhaleei WA, Rahmani J, Mahabadi A, Bandari DK. Knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 among health care workers: cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Heal Surveill. 2020 Apr;6(2):e19160. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Khasawneh AI, Humeidan AA, Alsulaiman JW, Bloukh S, Ramadan M, Al-Shatanawi TN, Awad HH, Hijazi WY, Al-Kammash KR, Obeidat N, Saleh T, Kheirallah KA. Medical students and COVID-19: knowledge, attitudes, and precautionary measures. A descriptive study from Jordan. Front Public Health. 2020;8:253. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Nazli T, Heena, Raheem A, Kishore J. Perceptions and practices of the adult population in response to SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in India. Epidem Int. 2020;5(2):10-6. [Google Scholar]

Zhong BL, Luo W, Li HM, Zhang QQ, Liu XG, Li WT, Li Y. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. Int J Biol Sci. 2020 Mar;16(10):1745-52. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Carvalho Alves MF, Lima Mendonça MDL, Xavier Soares JJ, Leal SDV, Dos Santos M, Rodrigues JM, Duarte Lopes E. Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in the resident Cape-Verdean population. Soc Sci Humanit Open. 2021;4:100184. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Published
2022-03-16