A survey on disaster management among postgraduate students in a private dental institution in India

Authors

  • G. Rajesh, MDS
  • Kumar Gaurav Chhabra, MDS
  • Preetha J. Shetty, MDS
  • K. V. V. Prasad, MPH
  • S. B. Javali, MPhil, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2011.0070

Keywords:

disaster management, questionnaire, postgraduate students, Indian context

Abstract

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding disaster management among postgraduate (PG) students in a private dental institution in India.
Design: Questionnaire survey with cross-sectional design.
Setting: Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
Patients and participants: All PG students in SDM college of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, were included.
Interventions: None.
Main outcome measures: Knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding disaster management.
Results: A total of 125 of 135 PG students participated (response rate of 92.59 percent) in the study. Mean knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores were 58.74, 85.78, and 31.60 percent, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between knowledge and year of study (ᵪ2 value = 45.301, p = 0.000), and behavior and place of residence of respondents (ᵪ2 value = 4.112, p = 0.043).
Conclusions: Participants had low knowledge and behavior scores, but high attitude scores regarding disaster management. The year of study and the place of residence were associated with knowledge and behavior, respectively. This study highlights the need for curriculum changes in dental education and has policy implications for disaster management in India.

Author Biographies

G. Rajesh, MDS

Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.

Kumar Gaurav Chhabra, MDS

Department of Public Health Dentistry, SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sattur, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.

Preetha J. Shetty, MDS

Professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry, SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sattur, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.

K. V. V. Prasad, MPH

Professor and Head, Department of Public Health Dentistry, SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sattur, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.

S. B. Javali, MPhil, PhD

Senior Grade Lecturer, Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sattur, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.

References

Colvard MD, Lampiris LN, Cordell GA, et al.: The dental emergency responder: Expanding the scope of dental practice. J Am Dent Assoc. 2006; 137: 468-473.

Shapira SC, Shemer J: Medical management of terrorist attacks. Isr Med Assoc J. 2002; 4: 489-492.

More FG, Phelan J, Boylan R, et al.: Predoctoral dental school curriculum for catastrophe preparedness. J Dent Educ. 2004; 68(8): 851-858.

Psoter WJ, Herman NG, More FG, et al.: Proposed educational objectives for hospital-based dentists during catastrophic events and disaster response. J Dent Educ. 2006; 70(8): 835-843.

Glotzer DL, Rinchiuso A, Rekow ED, et al.: The medical reserve corps: An opportunity for dentistry to serve. N Y State Dent J. 2006; 72(1): 60-61.

Psoter WJ, Triola MM, Morse DE, et al.: Enhancing medical and public health capabilities during times of crisis. N Y State Dent J. 2003; 69(5): 25-27.

Psoter WJ, Park PJ, Boylan RJ, et al.: National emergency response programs for dental health care professionals. J Am Dent Assoc. 2008; 139: 1067-1073.

O’Neill PA: The ABCs of disaster response. Scand J Surg. 2005; 94: 259-266.

Vale GL, Noguchi TT: The role of the forensic dentist in mass disaster. Dent Clin North Am. 1977; 21(1): 123-135.

Guay AH: Dentistry’s response to bioterrorism: A report of a consensus workshop. J Am Dent Assoc. 2002; 133: 1181-1187.

Galligan JM: Dentists can contribute expertise in a major public health disaster. Calif Dent Assoc J. 2004; 32(8): 701-708.

Flores S, Mills SE, Shackelford L: Dentistry and bioterrorism. Dent Clin North Am. 2003; 47(4): 733-744.

Jeffcoat MK: Are we ready? Thinking about the unthinkable. J Am Dent Assoc. 2002; 133: 1600-1604.

Rekow ED: The dental team: A ready reserve or an overlooked resource? J Am Dent Assoc. 2006; 137: 432-434.

Glick M: Vaccines, epidemics, pandemics and us. J Am Dent Assoc. 2006; 137: 706-708.

Katz AR, Nekorchuk DM, Holck PS, et al.: Dentists’ preparedness for responding to bioterrorism: A survey of Hawaii dentists. J Am Dent Assoc. 2006; 137: 461-467.

Guay AH: The role dentists can play in mass casualty and disaster events. Dent Clin North Am. 2007; 51(4): 767-778.

Glick M: When pigs fly: Confronting the new era of disease transmission. J Am Dent Assoc. 2005; 136: 270-271.

Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Disaster Management Division: Standard Operating Procedures for Responding to Natural Disasters. New Delhi, India: Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Disaster Management Division, 2010.

Dental Council of India, Government of India. Available at http://www.dciindia.org/. Accessed September 8, 2010.

Streiner DL, Norman GR: Devising the items. In Steiner DL, Norman GR (eds.): Health Measurement Scales: A Practical Guide to Their Development and Use. PDQ Statistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995: 15-26.

Brannon RB, Morlang WM:Tenerife revisited: The critical role of dentistry. J Forensic Sci. 2001; 46(3): 722-725.

Brannon RB, Morlang WM: The crash of LOT flight 007: Dental identification. J Forensic Sci. 2002; 47(6): 1323-1325.

Brannon RB, Morlang WM, Smith BC: The gander disaster: Dental identification in a military tragedy. J Forensic Sci. 2003; 48(6): 1331-1335.

Dumancic J, Kaic Z, Njemirovskij V, et al.: Dental identification after two mass disasters in Croatia. Croat Med J. 2001; 42(6): 657-662.

Brannon RB, Morlang WM: The USS Iowa disaster: Success of the forensic dental team. J Forensic Sci. 2004; 49(5): 1067-1068.

Wang L,Wei JH, He LS, et al.: Dentists’ role in treating facial injuries sustained in the 2008 earthquake in China: How dental professionals can contribute to emergency response. J Am Dent Assoc. 2009; 140(5): 543-549.

Dai J, Zhao Y, Li G:Wenchuan earthquake: Response of Chinese dental professionals. Br Dent J. 2009; 206(5): 273-276.

Kieser JA, Laing W, Herbison P: Lessons learned from largescale comparative dental analysis following the South Asian tsunami of 2004. J Forensic Sci. 2006; 51(1): 109-112.

De Valck E: Major incident response: Collecting ante-mortem data. Forensic Sci Int. 2006; 159 (Suppl 1): S15-S19.

Lessig R, Grundmann C, Dahlmann F, et al.: Tsunami 2004—A review of one year of continuous forensic medical work for victim identification. EXCLI J. 2006; 5: 128-139.

Perriera M, Bollmanna M, Girodb A, et al.: Swiss DVI at the tsunami disaster: Expect the unexpected. Forensic Sci Int. 2006; 159 (Suppl 1): S30-S32.

Petjua M, Suteerayongprasertb A, Thongpudc R, et al.: Importance of dental records for victim identification following the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster in Thailand. Public Health. 2007; 121: 251-257.

Schuller-Götzburg P, Suchanek J: Forensic odontologists successfully identify tsunami victims in Phuket, Thailand. Forensic Sci Int. 2007; 171(2-3): 204-207.

Bajaj A: Disaster victim identification: Tsunami. Br Dent J. 2005; 198(8): 504-505.

Hinchliffe JA: Disaster dentistry. Br Dent J. 2007; 202(8): 493- 494.

Brannon RB, Morlang WM: Jonestown tragedy revisited: The role of dentistry. J Forensic Sci. 2002; 47(1): 3-7.

Djuric MP, Milenkovic PP, Djukic KM: Dental status of victims from Batajnica’s mass graves. Coll Antropol. 2009; 33(4): 1387- 1395.

Djuric M, Dunjic D, Djonic D, et al.: Identification of victims from two mass-graves in Serbia: A critical evaluation of classical markers of identity. Forensic Sci Int. 2007; 172: 125-129.

Pretty IA, Sweet D: A look at forensic dentistry, Part 1: The role of teeth in the determination of human identity. Br Dent J. 2001; 190(7): 359-366.

Nedel F, Nedel AP, da Silva RHA, et al.: Evaluation of identification cases involving forensic dentistry in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil, 2004-2006. Braz J Oral Sci. 2009; 8(1): 55-58.

Nuzzolese E, Liuzzil C, Quarta G, et al.: Dental contribution to an anthropological forensic case work of skeletal remains in Miglionico Countryside (South Italy). Open Anthropol J. 2010; 3: 142-147.

Valenzuela A, Martin-de las Heras S, Marques T, et al.: The application of dental methods of identification to human burn victims in a mass disaster. Int J Legal Med. 2000; 113: 236-239.

Ermenc B, Renerb K: Possibilities for dental identification in the case of mass disaster in Slovenia. Forensic Sci Int. 1999; 103 (Suppl 1): S67-S75.

Farman AG, Levato CM, Gane D, et al.: In practice: How going digital will affect the dental office. J Am Dent Assoc. 2008; 139: 14S- 19S.

Kieser JA, DeFeiter J, TeMoananui R: Automated dental aging for child victims of disasters. Am J Disaster Med. 2008; 3: 109- 112.

Colvard MD, Naiman MI, Mata D, et al.: Disaster medicine training survey results for dental health care providers in Illinois. J Am Dent Assoc. 2007; 138(4): 519-524.

Perkins BA, Popovic T, Yeskey K: Public health in the time of bioterrorism. Emerg Infect Dis. 2002; 10(8): 1015-1018.

Chmar JE, Ranney RR, Guay AH, et al.: Incorporating bioterrorism training into dental education: Report of ADA-ADEA terrorism and mass casualty curriculum development workshop. J Dent Educ. 2004; 68(11): 1196-1199.

Hsu EB, Thomas TL, Bass EB, et al.: Healthcare worker competencies for disaster training. BMC Med Educ. 2006; 6: 19.

Glotzer DL, More FG, Phelan J, et al.: Introducing a senior course on catastrophe preparedness into the dental school curriculum. J Dent Educ. 2006; 70(3): 225-230.

Dental Council of India: Regulation for the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery, 2007. The Gazette of India, Extraordinary. Part III, Section 4, Dental Council of India Notification. New Delhi: Dental Council of India, 2007.

Olson D, Leitheiser A, Atchison C, et al.: Public health and terrorism preparedness: Cross-border issues. Public Health Rep. 2005; 120 (Suppl 1): 76-83.

Gerberding JL, Hughes JM, Koplan JP: Bioterrorism preparedness and response: Clinicians and public health agencies as essential partners. J Am Med Assoc. 2002; 287(7): 898-900.

Berketa JW, Hirsch RS, Higgins D, et al.: Radiographic recognition of dental implants as an aid to identifying the deceased. J Forensic Sci. 2010; 55(1): 66-70.

Jain AK, Chen H: Matching of dental X-ray images for human identification. Pattern Recognit. 2004; 37: 1519-1532.

Caldas IM, Magalhaes T, Afonso A: Establishing identity using cheiloscopy and palatoscopy. Forensic Sci Int. 2007; 165(1): 1-9.

Sharma P, Saxena S, Rathod V: Comparative reliability of cheiloscopy and palatoscopy in human identification. Indian J Dent Res. 2009; 20(4): 453-457.

Sweet D: Solving certain dental records problems with technology—The Canadian solution in the Thailand tsunami response. Forensic Sci Int. 2006; 159 (Suppl 1): S20-S23.

Salo S, Salo H, Liisanantti A, et al.: Data transmission in dental identification of mass disaster victims. J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2007; 25(1): 17-22.

Chomdej T, Pankaow W, Choychumroon S: Intelligent dental identification system (IDIS) in forensic medicine. Forensic Sci Int. 2006; 158(1): 27-38.

Yoshida M, Hanaoka Y, Tsuzuki T, et al.: Collection of intraoral findings in corpse with small-scale color dental scanner system. Forensic Sci Int. 2009; 185(1-3): e25-e28.

Thanawood C, Yongchalermchai C, Densrisereekul O: Effects of the December 2004 tsunami and disaster management in Southern Thailand. Sci Tsunami Hazards. 2006; 24(3): 206-217.

Congram D, Steadman DW: Distinguished guests or agents of ingérence: Foreign participation in Spanish Civil War grave excavations. Complutum. 2008; 19(2): 161-173.

Nuzzolese E,Di Vella G: Future project concerning mass disaster management: A forensic odontology prospectus. Int Dent J. 2007; 57: 261-266.

Sholl SA, Moody GH: Evaluation of dental radiographic identification: An experimental study. Forensic Sci Int. 2001; 115(3): 165-169.

Frykberg ER: Principles of mass casualty management following terrorist disasters. Ann Surg. 2004; 239(3): 319-321.

Auf der Heide E: The importance of evidence-based disaster planning. Ann Emerg Med. 2006; 47(1): 34-49.

Hoshi K, Nakakuki K, Tsuruta J, et al.: Are lessons from oral health/medical relief activity during earthquake hazards in Japan distributed to the world? Health Sci Health Care. 2008; 8(2): 69-74.

Published

09/01/2011

How to Cite

Rajesh, MDS, G., K. G. Chhabra, MDS, P. J. Shetty, MDS, K. V. V. Prasad, MPH, and S. B. Javali, MPhil, PhD. “A Survey on Disaster Management Among Postgraduate Students in a Private Dental Institution in India”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 6, no. 5, Sept. 2011, pp. 309-18, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2011.0070.