Dentists’ intention to report suspected violence: a cross-sectional study in eight Arab countries

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study assessed dentists’ intention in eight Arab countries to report suspected exposure to violence among patients and factors associated with this intention based on the theory of planned behaviour.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 including a convenience sample of dentists practising in public, private and academic sectors in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Respondents answered a self-administered questionnaire collecting information about personal and professional background and perceived ability to identify victims of violence. The questionnaire assessed (on a scale from 1 to 10 using six negative statements) dentists’ perception of healthcare system mandated reporting of suspected violence. Six statements were used to assess professional attitude towards reporting suspected violence. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between intention to report suspected violence and perceived ability, perception and attitude adjusting for confounders.ResultsThe response rate was 65.2% (n=2936/4506) from general practitioners (70.9%) of mean age=31 years with 56.7% women. Of those, 68.8% intended to report and 52.2% considered themselves able to identify violence victims. The mean (SD) negative perception score=5.3/10 (2.1) and the mean (SD) professional attitude score=7.5/10 (1.9). In multivariate regression, intention to report was associated with professional attitude (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.14), ability to identify violence victims (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.45 to 2.12) and negative perception that reporting is not mandated (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.94). Significant differences existed among countries in intention to report.ConclusionMost dentists intended to report suspected violence and their intention could be explained by the theory of planned behaviour which offers a framework for professional development to support violence victims. Sharing of training resources, policies and guidelines is needed to ensure that practices similar to international guidelines are consistently adopted by dentists across Arab countries.

Dentists’ intentions to manage drug users: Role of theory of planned behaviour and continuing education

“…In our study, perceived control was significantly associated with intention to manage DUs. This agrees with a previous study reporting that perceived control related to dentists’ ability to identify victims of violence had the strongest association with intention of Arab dentists’ to report suspected exposure to violence in their patients …”

Behavior change due to COVID-19 among dental academics—The theory of planned behavior: Stresses, worries, training, and pandemic severity

“…These intentions, in turn, are affected by the control that people perceive they have over their actions, by their attitude toward the behavior and whether they think it is useful, important or desirable, and by the norms they perceive to be prevailing around them. The TPB was previously used to explain dentists' behaviors including delivering prevention [17], reporting suspected violence [18], and managing drug users [19]. The change in behaviors among dentists due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be explained by the TPB including the control they perceive they have over avoiding infection by the disease because of previous training they received, worries because of the pandemic which may affect their attitudes and the importance they attach to adopting preventive behaviors, and the prevailing norms around them regarding the seriousness of the pandemic based on the fatalities it causes.…”

Dentist availability in Egypt: a 20-year study of supply, potential demand and economic factors

“…The present study disagrees with a Chilean study that projected 77.5% dentist oversupply after increasing dental schools from 5 to 34 over 15 years (21), and with an Indian study reporting a surplus of 100 000 dentists after a 10-fold increase in dental schools over 25 years (22). This difference in attrition rate may be explained by dentists' migration outside Egypt, which is supported by a previous study showing that the highest percentage of Arab expatriates working as dentists in 8 Arab countries were Egyptian (23), and a United Nations report showing brain drain in some Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, resulting from migration to the Gulf countries (24). The impact of mobility on dentist availability in source countries witnessing political and economic instability should be addressed by co-ordinated global efforts.…”