Assessment of Knowledge about Referral Letters among Fresh Graduates and General Dentists of Karachi

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Medical or dental referrals are a very significant part of a health professionals’ job. It is imperative that they are proficient in developing effective referral letters with relevant information and sequence. Objective: To find out how much the dentists know about effective referral letter writing. To assess the knowledge of fresh dental graduates and general dentists in Karachi regarding referral letters. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A questionnaire was developed consisting of two parts; first part pertaining to demographic data while second part consisted of multiple-choice questions. Convenience sampling technique was adopted and a sample size of n=75 was collected. Our study setting was Jinnah Medical and Dental College for fresh graduates while general dentists were approached from all over Karachi. The fresh graduates who were absent on the day of data collection and anyone who did not give consent was excluded from the study. Participants were approached by one of the investigators to fill out the designated questionnaires. Study duration spanned from October 2022 to January 2023. Data was documented in SPSS version 25 and frequencies calculated. T-test was used for comparison. Result: Knowledge of n=35 fresh graduates and n=40 general dentists regarding referral letters was assessed. 31.4% of fresh graduates and 25% of general dentists exhibited good knowledge on cut-off scores. No significant comparative difference in the level of knowledge of the two groups was determined regarding the components of a referral letter. Conclusion: Participants were well informed and knowledgeable about the relevance and importance of a referral letter. Keywords: Dental referral, Effective referral, Fresh graduates, General dentists, Questionnaire, Treatment.