Knowledge and Attitude of Dental Students toward Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Thodupzha, Kerala

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a syndrome not only to deal with by the clinician, but also to understand the social implications with proper magnitude. Aim: To assess the knowledge and attitude regarding HIV/AIDS patients among dental students in Thodupuzha, Kerala. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 341 dental students studying at a dental college in South Kerala, India. The students completed a predesigned self-administered questionnaire assessing the knowledge, attitude, and willingness to treat HIV/AIDS patients. SPSS software version 20 was used for the analysis. The data were analyzed using Student's t-test and analysis of variance. P < 0.01 was considered statistically significant. Results: More than half of the students (58.67%) had positive knowledge. There was a significant difference in knowledge score between the first-, second-, third-, and final-year students (P < 0.001). The favorable attitude score was reported among 22.22% of the study participants. There was no significant difference in the attitude of the students between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years, whereas significant difference was observed between students of final year and remaining batches (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings suggest that, although the students had adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, their attitude toward this group of people was not favorable.