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Awareness on bioterrorism among dental graduates in Northern India
Sunil Kumar Gulia1, Shilpa Sunil Khanna2, Fatema Zahid Hussain1, Rudra Sharma1, Kanish Aggarwal3, Ajay Kumar4
1 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana, India
2 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Sri Ramakrishna Dental College and Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
3 Department of Orthodontics, Rayat Bahra Dental College, SAS Nagar, Punjab, India
4 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College, Panchkula, Haryana, India
Correspondence Address:
Ajay Kumar
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College, Panchkula, Haryana
India
Sunil Kumar Gulia
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SGT University, Gurugram, Badli, Jhajjar, Haryana
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jdrr.jdrr_44_20
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Aim: This study is intended to evaluate the knowledge and awareness among dental graduates on bioterrorism. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey. Self-administered questionnaire survey was used to evaluate the knowledge and awareness among dental graduates pertaining to bioterrorism. In this regard, a questionnaire study was conducted with a convenience sample of 172 dental graduates studying in various institutions in Northern India. This study, while limited in sample size, benefits the general practitioners as target readers to assess the knowledge and awareness among dental graduates on bioterrorism. Results: The results of this study show that 73.8% of the dental graduates who participated in the study were aware of the term bioterrorism. However, only 56.9% of dental graduates were only aware of the different biological agents that can be employed in bioterrorism. Only 61.6% of the participants were aware where to report a bioterrorism. Even though 92.4% of the participants felt that dentists can play an active role during bioterrorism, only 7% of the participants have attended an awareness program pertaining to bioterrorism. Conclusion: Dental graduates lacked knowledge pertaining to bioterrorism. Hence, the results of this study show that there is a need to educate dental graduates regarding bioterrorism through guest lectures or continued dental education.
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