A Follow-up Study on the Attitude, Behavior and Knowledge regarding AIDS among Dental Hygiene Students

Abstract

Health workers should provide, in all sincerity, full medical care for every patient, regardless of his or her symptoms. To realize this principle, it is important to conduct a college education effectively at not only acquiring knowledge but also cultivating ethical attitudes. With the above in our perspective, a follow-up study based upon questionnaires was carried out to observe dental hygiene students under the present conventional educational systems and to inquire into changes in their AIDS awareness. The investigations were made 3 times in the January of their first year, the February of their second year, and one year and 5 months after graduation. The main findings of our study are:* AIDS knowledge hardly increased after the students went into clinical practice, and it remained on the same level of the knowledge acquired in college. A comprehensive AIDS education is, therefore, absolutely required in the fundamental training course of the first-year curriculum.* After students went into clinical practice, their fear of infection increased. On the other hand, their attitudes towards AIDS-infected patients were formed in the clinical training course. It is thus essential to conduct, during that time, the education that will help raise their AIDS awareness.