Knowledge of dental students regarding hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of senior dental students about Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV). Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, questionnaire-based study. In the study, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. The questionnaire had 2 sections. First section recorded demographic data of participants (age, gender), the type of faculty ( Dentistry faculty of Guilan University of Medical Science (GUMS) or Dentistry faculty of International Campus-Guilan University of Medical Science (IC-GUMS)) and students’ semester (11th or 12th). The second section included 13 questions. Validity and reliability were determined. For each correct answer, score one was considered and for each wrong answer, score zero was determined. Their knowledge was categorized as poor (0-4), moderate (5-9), and good (10-13) Data obtained from research questionnaires was analyzed by SPSS software version 21 using chi-square, kruskal-wallis test and Mann Whitney. Significant value was set as p< 0.05. Results: The study results showed that , the effects of age, gender, type of faculty and semester on the knowledge of students in dental faculty of GUMS and IC-GUMS were not significant. The mean score of students’ knowledges was 5.47±1.63. Conclusion: Students’ knowledge was moderate in the current study. Efficacious training programs should be prepared for dental students to increase their knowledge, regarding hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.