General Dental Practitioners as Potential Responders to Disaster Scenario in a Highly Disaster-prone Area: An Explorative Study

Abstract

Aim:The aim of this study is to obtain insights pertaining to disaster management among Indian general dental practitioners (GDPs). Materials and methods:All GDPs in Mangaluru city, Karnataka, India, were included in the present study. Their willingness to participate in disaster management and their objective knowledge, attitude, behavior, and perceived effectiveness related to disaster management were assessed by a structured, pretested, self-administered questionnaire. Demographic information was also collected. Conclusion:The GDPs reported knowledge and behavior scores which were low, while their attitude and willingness to participate were high. Demographic determinants might be critical indicators in disaster management scenario among GDPs. Clinical significance:The present study has crucial implications for policymakers and curriculum changes to integrate dentists effectively into disaster response teams. As responsible members of the society, the dental fraternity has critical contributions to make toward disaster mitigation. Integration of GDPs in a multidisciplinary team managing disasters might be crucial, especially in highly disaster-prone areas, such as India, with a definite paucity of resources. General Dental Practitioners as Potential Responders to Disaster Scenario in a Highly

Preparedness toward participation in disaster management: An online survey among dental practitioners in a disaster-prone region of Eastern India

“…The average objective knowledge score of the participants was around 55% of the total score, which was consistent with the finding of a few Indian studies[ 21 22 23 ] and one Nigerian study. [ 30 ] This might be attributed to the fact that hardly any dentists (only about 3%) had undergone proper training regarding DM.…”

“…[ 5 ] The consequence of a lack of formal training is well reflected in the study, resulting in only 21% of GDPs being aware of SOPs in tandem with findings of other Indian studies. [ 21 23 ] Previous participation in DM, which could have enhanced the familiarity among the respondents even in the absence of formal training, was also found to be less (18%) in the present study, similar to the findings among GDPs of Rajasthan. [ 21 ] No independent variable was predictive of the total knowledge score, similar to the finding of the Rajasthan study.…”

“…A high attitude score was reported among the participants in the present study, which was similar to all other studies among dentists in India and Nigeria. [ 21 22 23 30 ] This positive attitude can be attributed to the recognition of social responsibilities among the GDPs which can be utilized for capacity building by increasing the number of trained manpower available at the time of emergency. In corroboration of this outcome, the majority of the participants (95.5%) were willing to participate during the testing times of disasters.…”

“…According to the previous literature, an estimated 96% of dentists were willing to assist in the case of a disaster in Karnataka, India. [ 23 ] Assuming a 95% confidence interval, 5% level of significance, and 5% margin of error, the sample size was calculated as 72. A list of email ids of the 256 licensed GDPs of Cuttack, Odisha, was obtained from the registrar at the Dental Council of India, Odisha branch.…”

“…[ 20 ] This represents a large standby of a valuable workforce who can be part of the DM manpower. Few surveys conducted among Indian general dental practitioners (GDPs) belonging to the states Rajasthan,[ 21 ] Uttar Pradesh,[ 22 ] and Karnataka[ 23 ] have reported that; although the participants revealed high willingness and attitude to participate in DM, the knowledge scores were low. However, to the best of our knowledge, no such studies in the literature have explored various aspects of DM among the GDPs of Odisha.…”