You are in Artículos Volume 42 Número 2

Change of attitude in Spanish professional dentists as regards risk of HIV/Aids infection

abstract

Objective: The aim is to estimate the changes in attitude arising after eighteen years in the perception\r\nof the risk of contracting HIV/Aids among Spanish dental health workers and the general public.\r\nDesign: We performed a cross-sectional comparative investigation with the data collected from a\r\nsurvey in 1996 and 2014. Method: two experimental random samples have been selected which\r\nmake up both groups of dental health workers and general population. Participants were provided\r\nwith the Global AIDS Attitudes questionnaire and form a B Eysenck Personality Inventory. The data\r\nwas subsequently subjected to statistical analysis in order to find any significant differences in both\r\nyears’ samples. Results: The general public of 1996 perceived greater risk in situations like “surgery\r\nwith risk for the patient” and “donating blood” than dentists. That trend was inverted in 2014. In\r\n1996, male dentists perceived more risk in general terms than women, but in 2014 women assigned\r\nmore risk (mainly in dental surgery or sharing a syringe). According to age, only in 1996 data showed\r\nthat dentists over forty perceived more risk than those under twenty-five. Conclusion: After 18\r\nyears, positive changes in the general public’s attitudes have taken place but dental health workers\r\nhave increased their perception of risk of contagion. In the 1996 survey male dentists perceived\r\ngreater risk while in 2014 it was women who perceived this.

Keywords:

Dental health workers, dentists, HIV/AIDS, attitude, perception, risk, infection.

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Authors

Juan Rojo Moreno - Full Professor of Psychiatry. Valencia University Medical and Dental School. Spain.
Sandra Solves Valero - Graduate in Psychology, Master in sanitary clinical practice. Private Clinic in Psychology. Spain.
Carlota Valdemoro García - Psychiatrist MD, PhD, Dentist DDS. Private clinic in dentistry. Valencia. Spain.
María Peñarrocha-Diago - MD. DDS Full Professor of Oral Surgery. Department of Stomatology. Valencia University Medical and Dental School. Spain.
Josefina Alventosa Del Río - Full Professor of Civil Law, Valencia University Law School, Spain. President of Spanish Association of Aids Jurists (JURISIDA).