Abstract
Objectives : This study was to study dental hygiene department students' management of infection and their attitude toward infection. Methods : This study was conducted from August 24, 2009 to September 20, 2009. 269 sophomore and junior college students enrolled in the department of dental hygiene from schools located in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted. Results : 1. As for dental hygiene department students' recognition of the causes of infectious diseases, 80.7% of the respondents said hepatitis B was the infectious disease highly likely to occur in laboratories. 35.3% was correct about the antecedent variables of infection in the workshop, 24.9% about the oral symptoms of HIV and 18.6% about the diseases induced by HBV. The recognition rates were generally low. 2. About whether the respondents ask patients questions about infectious diseases, 80.7% of them answered Yes, but only 56.2% of them said they do so every time, and 17.8% of them said they never do so. 3. As far as washing hands to prevent infectious diseases is concerned, 97.4% of the respondents said hand washing helps prevent infection. 72.5% of them said they wash their hands every time before they practice on a patient, while 84.0% of them said they washed their hands after the lab practice. 90.7% said they use liquid soap containing anti-microbial agents, and 81.8% of them said they use paper towels. 4. With regard to protective gear for prevention of infectious diseases, 98.9% of the respondents said it is desirable to use disposable protective gear for each patient. When it comes to what they actually used as protective gear, 91.1% said aprons, 89.2% gloves, and 87.7% masks. However, a low percentage of the respondents actually use goggles and replace masks when they got damp, 11.2% and 24.2% respectively. Conclusions : As for treating the surface of equipments to prevent infectious diseases, most of the respondents exhibited a high recognition rate. Relative fewer respondents actually treat the surface of equipments than those respondents who are aware of the need to do so. A high percentage of the respondents also said they use alcohol sponge to treat the surface of each equipment in order to prevent infectious diseases.
