ABSTRACT
Introduction: The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education and clinical purposes is growing immensely. The usage skill, attitude of dental students, and difficulties faced by students are important concerns to be addressed. Objective: The study was designed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and skills of ICT of undergraduate dental students via assessing the ease of computer and internet use among students, the level of computer skills and training of the students, and usage pattern of computer activities. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among students of three dental colleges in Haryana using a self-designed questionnaire having sections related to demographics, devices, softwares and search engine usage, ICT skills, ICT attitude, and educational and social use. Results: The response rate was 81.96%. A total of 99.1% of the individuals responded affirmatively to the usage of mobile phones, 48.4 and 13.1% for laptops and tablets, respectively. The average duration of use of smartphones per day was 4.2121 ± 2.834 hours. Google was opted as the most popular search engine used and PubMed the least popular. Only 12.9% of participants showed a negative attitude toward the use of ICT in studies. More social use than academic use was observed. Attitude scores showed a significant correlation with the educational use of ICT (r = 0.89, p = 0.003). Conclusion: Most of the participants were well acquainted with the usage and had a positive attitude toward ICT for educational purposes. Sensitization and training in scientific literature search and basics of ICT and their practical utilization in dental education, research, and practice should be included in the curriculum. How to cite this article: Sikka N, Arya L, Bala S, et al. Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception of Undergraduate Dental Students on Information and Communication Technology and Computer-assisted Learning. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(5):711-715.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Child abuse continues to be a social menace causing both physical and emotional trauma to benevolent children. Census has shown that nearly 50-75% of child abuse include trauma to mouth, face, and head. Thus, dental professionals are in a strategic position to identify physical and emotional manifestations of abuse. AIM: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess knowledge and attitude of dental professionals on the exigent issue of child abuse. METHODOLOGY: With prior consent, a 20-question survey including both multiple choice and dichotomous (yes/no) questions was mailed to 120 state-registered general dentists and the data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The overall response rate to the questionnaires was 97%. Lack of knowledge about dentist role in reporting child abuse accounted to 55% in the reasons for hesitancy to report. Pearson's Chi-square test did not show any significant difference between male and female regarding the reason for hesitancy to report and legal obligation of dentists. RESULTS: Although respondent dentists were aware of the diagnosis of child abuse, they were hesitant and unaware of the appropriate authority to report. CONCLUSION: Increased instruction in the areas of recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect should be emphasized.
