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Knowledge and attitude of dental faculty members towards evidence‐based dentistry in Iran
Author(s) -
Sabounchi S. S.,
Nouri M.,
Erfani N.,
Houshmand B.,
Khoshnevisan M. H.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1600-0579
pISSN - 1396-5883
DOI - 10.1111/eje.12019
Subject(s) - evidence based dentistry , certificate , medical education , medicine , family medicine , psychology , dental education , oral health , dentistry , alternative medicine , algorithm , pathology , computer science
Educating dental practitioners is a major component in obtaining evidence‐based approach to oral health care, but there is no evidence about knowledge and attitude of dental faculty members towards evidence‐based dentistry ( EBD ) in I ran. Materials and methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted using self‐administered questionnaires on dental school faculties in I ran to assess their knowledge and attitude towards basic principles and methods of EBD . A total of eight dental schools were randomly selected of 17 public and two existing private schools. Validated questionnaire with an appropriate reliability ( C ronbach's alpha 0.67 – 0.87) was conducted on ( n = 505) available dental instructors. The covered dimensions were perceived knowledge on critical appraisal, actual knowledge of EBD concepts, evidence‐accessing methods and attitudes about EBD . Correlations were assessed between background characteristics and four main parts of the questionnaire, and multiple linear regression analysis was also used. Results A total of 377 of 505 dental instructors returned completed questionnaires (response rate 74.65%). The mean perceived knowledge score was 15.32 ± 4.69 on a range of 6–36, and mean actual knowledge was 7.98 ± 2.0 on a range of 0–11 for all respondents with an overall positive attitude towards EBD . Conclusions This study suggests that the level of actual knowledge of dental faculties about basic principles of EBD was moderate in I ran. However, faculties' overall interest and positive attitude towards learning EBD is encouraging. Therefore, it is highly recommended that degree/certificate continuing educational programmes be planned by the organising committees.