Tenny Setiani Dewi, Wahyu Hidayat

Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia reported that 50% of new sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occur in Indonesian people aged 15 to 24 years. Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of dental students are expected to include a good practical understanding of STDs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards STD risk among clinical dental students on rotation at the Faculty of Dentistry, Padjadjaran University, Bandung.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the Dental Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry, Padjadjaran University, Bandung. A detailed questionnaire to identify socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards STDs was given to the students.

Results: The study was based on 170 responding students (87.1% female and 12.9% male), aged 21 to 28 years. The knowledge of respondents was generally very good with the majority of correct answers above 60%. The respondents had to choose more than one disease that can be transmitted through sexual contact, including Herpes infection, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and HIV/AIDS. The majority of respondents (95.9%) stated that HIV/AIDS is the most common cause of STDs compared to other diseases.

The attitude of the respondents on STDs showed positive attitudes related to reproductive health, maintaining virginity, avoiding pregnancy until marriage and abortion. Regarding sexual activity, 10.7% of the respondents had sex outside marriage and had never contracted a venereal disease.

Conclusion: The level of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors about STDs in dental students on clinical rotation was good. It is hoped that professional-level dental students can educate the public about STDs.