Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Nurses in Dentistry School and Dental Clinics of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences towards Infection Control and Environmental Health Principles

In the dentistry profession, since dentists and nurses are in contact with blood, mucus or infected saliva, their environment and equipment are exposed to high contamination. the prevalence of dangerous diseases among staff and patients will not be against expectations. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of dental nursing towards infection control and environmental health principles in the dental care centers.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 41 nurses of Dentistry School of Shahid Sadoughi University of medical sciences, Khatamolanbia and Imam Ali clinics. The data collected through a self- administered questionnaire containing questions related to knowledge, attitude and practice in the field of infection control. The data were analyzed by frequency distributions, T-test, ANOVA and correlation coefficient tests using SPSS software.

The mean score of nurse’s knowledge was 7.92±1.34 (from a scale 0-13), the mean score of attitude was 97.87±5.28 (from a scale 21-105) and the mean score of practice was 35.31±4.48 (from a scale 12-48). According to the results, there was a significant and positive correlation between knowledge with attitude and also attitude with practice (p<0.05).

  According to the results, it seems that good performance of dental nurses in this research is caused by good knowledge and attitude towards infection control and environmental health principles in the dental care centers. In order to maintain this practice level, ongoing educational programs should be codified and implemented completely.