Abstract
Objectives: To assess the current COVID-19 related experiences, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among orthodontists, orthodontic residents, and orthodontic nurses in China, and to identify factors associated with their self-perceived and actual level of knowledge, as well as their willingness to treat/care for COVID-19 patients.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in China using a 37-item questionnaire developed based on previous research. A professional online survey tool (www.wjx.cn) and a social media platform (WeChat) were used to display and distribute the questionnaire. Data were collected during April 11 to 13, 2020, when most regions of China had resumed dental practice except for high-risk regions such as Wuhan. Then the data were analyzed with multivariable generalized estimating equations.Results: A total of 2,669 valid questionnaires were collected. Orthodontic services were suspended for nearly all respondents (97.8%) during the epidemic, and 68.0% had resumed work by the time they completed the questionnaire. The majority of respondents (80.2%) were confident that they understood COVID-19 related knowledge, but most of them only correctly answered less than half of the questions testing their actual level of knowledge. About two-thirds (64.1%) were willing to treat/care for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The completion of relevant training programs was significantly associated with more confidence in knowledge mastery (P < 0.001) and a higher actual level of knowledge (P < 0.001), but did not increase their willingness to treat/care for patients with COVID-19 (P = 0.235).Conclusions: Before work resumption, COVID-19-related training programs are essential for the improvement of knowledge, confidence, and preparedness of orthodontic professionals. Sufficient and proper protection should also be provided to ensure safety and reduce the psychological burden on them.Clinical Relevance: The findings can provide evidence for policy-making related to the resumption of elective dental services.
Highlights
After being discovered in Wuhan, China, last December, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread quickly to most parts of the world [1]
Due to the character of our recruitment methods, it was impossible to estimate the total number of orthodontic practitioners who had received our survey invitation
Among the 2,890 questionnaires collected, 221 responses were invalid according to the predetermined eligibility criteria: four failed to complete the survey before the deadline, 15 submitted with an unusual completion time, and 202 questionnaires had obvious mistakes such as abnormal age and contradictory answers to similar questions
Summary
After being discovered in Wuhan, China, last December, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread quickly to most parts of the world [1]. Current observations have suggested that people of all ages are generally susceptible to COVID-19. Those who are in close contact with confirmed cases or asymptomatic carriers, including health care workers (HCWs) and other patients within hospitals and/or clinics, are at higher risk of infection [5]. As of February 24, 2020, a total of 3,387 HCWs from 476 medical institutions across China were reported to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 (including 2,055 confirmed cases, 1,070 clinically diagnosed cases, and 157 suspected cases), among whom over 90% were from Hubei province and over 20 had died [6, 7]. Currently there are no data available for crosstransmission in dental settings or cases reported among dental HCWs [9, 10]
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