Abstract
BackgroundCOVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge and associated factors among dental academics in 26 countries.MethodsWe invited dental academics to participate in a cross-sectional, multi-country, online survey from March to April 2020. The survey collected data on knowledge of COVID-19 regarding the mode of transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, protection, and dental treatment precautions as well as participants’ background variables. Multilevel linear models were used to assess the association between dental academics’ knowledge of COVID-19 and individual level (personal and professional) and country-level (number of COVID-19 cases/ million population) factors accounting for random variation among countries.ResultsTwo thousand forty-five academics participated in the survey (response rate 14.3%, with 54.7% female and 67% younger than 46 years of age). The mean (SD) knowledge percent score was 73.2 (11.2) %, and the score of knowledge of symptoms was significantly lower than the score of knowledge of diagnostic methods (53.1 and 85.4%, P < 0.0001). Knowledge score was significantly higher among those living with a partner/spouse than among those living alone (regression coefficient (B) = 0.48); higher among those with PhD degrees than among those with Bachelor of Dental Science degrees (B = 0.48); higher among those seeing 21 to 30 patients daily than among those seeing no patients (B = 0.65); and higher among those from countries with a higher number of COVID-19 cases/million population (B = 0.0007).ConclusionsDental academics had poorer knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms than of COVID-19 diagnostic methods. Living arrangements, academic degrees, patient load, and magnitude of the epidemic in the country were associated with COVD-19 knowledge among dental academics. Training of dental academics on COVID-19 can be designed using these findings to recruit those with the greatest need.
Highlights
COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries
The number of dental academics per country was estimated by using a ratio of 1:5 dental academics to dentists, based on information extracted from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Health Observatory database [15]
We identified the countries with a large number of dentists from the Global Health Observatory [15] with the assumption that these countries have large numbers of dental academics
Summary
COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting all aspects of life in all countries. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge and associated factors among dental academics in 26 countries. The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a viral respiratory infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1] that is causing a pandemic. The total number of COVID-19 cases reported until May 22nd, 2020, was 5, 279,643, with 338,666 deaths and 213 countries affected [2]. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted through respiratory droplets, direct contact, and possibly through aerosol-generating procedures such as many dental procedures [3]. There have been calls to assess the risk of transmission through saliva [4], and whether asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients can transmit the infection [3]. A significant number of patients with COVID-19 present with loss of smell and taste [6], which may prompt them to consult a dentist for care
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