Assessment of knowledge and practice of internal medicine postgraduate students and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) regarding the association of oral health with CKD in Isfahan, Iran, in ۲۰۱۸

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the knowledge and practice of internal medicine postgraduate students and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).METHODS: To measure the knowledge and practice of internal medicine postgraduate students and patients with CKD, ۲ validated and reliable questionnaires were used. Each questionnaire included the ۳ sections of demographic characteristics form, knowledge measurement, and performance assessment. The questionnaires were distributed among ۵۰ internal medicine postgraduate students of Alzahra Hospital and ۱۵۰ patients with CKD at Alzahra and Hojatieh Hospitals who were selected randomly. The mean scores of knowledge and practice were extracted from the responses provided in the questionnaires. Based on the mean scores obtained, the knowledge and performance of the participants were measured . Data analysis was carried out in SPSS software using the Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and independent t-test.RESULTS: The mean score of knowledge and practice of the postgraduate students were ۶۵.۱ ± ۱۶.۰۲ and ۳۹.۸ ± ۱۶.۹, respectively. Furthermore, of the ۱۵۰ patients with CKD with a mean age of ۵۲.۷ ± ۱۶.۸ years, ۵۶.۲% were men and ۴۵.۳% had primary education. The patients’ mean score of knowledge regarding the association of CKD and oral health was ۴۵.۱ ± ۱۸.۸ and that of their practice was ۴۴.۰۴ ± ۲۰.۸ out of ۱۰۰.CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicated that internal medicine postgraduate students and patients with CKD had moderate level of knowledge and performance with regard to the association of oral health with CKD. Moreover, the results showed no significant relationship between the internal medicine postgraduate students’ knowledge and age, year of residency, and clinical experience, but there was a significant reverse association between the postgraduate students’ knowledge and the number of patients with CKD they visited during a week.

Keywords:

Knowledge , Oral Health , Chronic kidney disease