Background

Dental health care workers (DHCW's) are invariably at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. The objectives were; to investigate the current knowledge on COVID-19 among the DHCW's; and to conduct quasi-experiment among the DHCW's who were unaware of the disseminated COVID-19 information.

Methods

A nationwide cross-sectional study targeting dental interns, auxiliaries, and specialists with a two-staged cluster sampling technique was performed. A 17-item questionnaire was subjected to reliability and validity tests before being administered. The participants for quasi-experiment were separated from the original sample after their initial response. Chi-square test assessed responses to knowledge statements between the participants. Difference in mean knowledge scores between the categories of DHCW's and sources of COVID-19 information was assessed using ANOVA. Data from the quasi experiment (pre vs post knowledge intervention) was subjected to paired t-test. Percentage of DHCWs providing correct or wrong responses to each knowledge statement at baseline and after 7 days were compared using McNemar test.

Results

The overall sample consisted of 706 (N) participants, and the DHCW's with no prior knowledge on COVID-19 (N = 206) were part of the quasi experiment. Findings from cross-sectional study revealed that knowledge was significantly (p < 0.05) related to the qualification level (interns vs auxiliaries vs specialists). However, the difference in the source of information (WHO/CDC vs Journal articles vs MoH) did not demonstrate any effect. Number of participants with correct responses to knowledge questions had significantly (p < 0.05) increased after intervention. Also, the overall mean knowledge score (10.74 ± 2.32 vs 12.47 ± 1.68; p < 0.001) had increased significantly after the intervention.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the basic knowledge on COVID-19 among the DHCW's in Saudi Arabia is acceptable. Timely dissemination of information by the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia had a positive impact on the COVID-19 knowledge score of the DHCW's.

中文翻译：

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沙特阿拉伯的牙科实习生，牙科助剂和牙科专家对新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的了解：一项全国性研究。

背景

牙科保健工作者（DHCW）始终具有感染COVID-19的较高风险。目标是；调查DHCW中有关COVID-19的当前知识；并在不了解已分发的COVID-19信息的DHCW中进行准实验。

方法

使用两阶段整群抽样技术进行了针对牙科实习生，助剂和专家的全国性横断面研究。一项17项问卷在进行管理之前要接受可靠性和有效性测试。最初实验后，准实验参与者与原始样本分离。卡方检验评估了参与者之间对知识陈述的反应。使用ANOVA评估了DHCW类别和COVID-19信息来源之间的平均知识得分差异。将来自准实验（知识干预前后）的数据进行配对t检验。使用McNemar测试比较了基线和7天后对每种知识陈述提供正确或错误回答的DHCW的百分比。

结果

整个样本由706（N）名参与者组成，并且对COVID-19没有任何先验知识的DHCW（N  = 206）是准实验的一部分。横断面研究的结果表明，知识与学历水平（实习生，助剂和专家）显着相关（p  <  0.05）。但是，信息来源的差异（WHO / CDC与Journal文章与MoH）并未显示出任何效果。干预后，对知识问题做出正确回答的参与者人数显着增加（p  <  0.05）。同样，整体平均知识得分（10.74±2.32 vs 12.47±1.68；p  <  0.001）在干预后显着增加。

结论

总之，在沙特阿拉伯的DHCW中，关于COVID-19的基本知识是可以接受的。沙特阿拉伯卫生部及时发布信息对DHCW的COVID-19知识得分产生了积极影响。