Relationship between knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS among dental school employees and students.
K. BÖRSUM*, O. EGELAND, H.R. PREUS, P. GJERMO, (University of Oslo, Norway).

Employees and students at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo responded to a comprehensive questionnaire regarding knowledge and attitudes towards HIV. The intention of the present study was to describe possible relationships between the two. The questionnaire consisted of 39 closed questions. The response rate was 75% (436/584). The answers were used to construct additive indices for knowledge and attitudes. Factor analysis resulted in three dimensions of attitudes ("legal", "personal risk", and "personal consequences") which were anlaysed separately against knowledge. The knowledge index reflected the number of correct answers concerning risk groups and transmission. Correlation analyses (Spearmans’ r) of all respondents together (n-346) revealed a weak, but statistically significant positive correlation between knowledge, and the "legal" and the "personal risk "dimension of attitudes (r=0.016, p<0.01; r=0.21, p<0.001). The "personal consequence" dimension was not significantly correlated with knowledge (r=0.06, p>0.05). The strongest correlation was found between knowledge and the "legal" dimension (r=0.31, p<0.01), and knowledge and the "personal risk" dimension (r=0.30, p<0.05) among non-clinical personnel. No particular group of employees or students displayed a significant correlation between knowledge and the "personal consequence" dimension of attitudes.

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