Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas de los residentes de odontología de la Universidad Santo Tomás acerca de la cesación del hábito del tabaquismo

Abstract

Introduction: smoking continues to be one of the leading public health issues worldwide, as well as the primary preventable cause of disease and death. Therefore, dentists play a crucial role in the early prevention of the habit on early stages. This is why training professionals in smoking cessation is essential when treating smoker patients. Objective: to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of postgraduate residents from various specialties at the Santo Tomás University, and their relationship with sociodemographic characteristics regarding support for smoking cessation. Materials and methods: an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 98 residents from different dental specialties, they completed a questionnaire consisting of 8 questions to assess knowledge, 5 focused on attitudes, and 4 on practices. The questionnaire was validated by experts in the field and was administered both virtually through a QR code by the GoogleForms platform and physically through printed surveys. Data was analyzed using univariate analysis with absolute frequency and percentage tests, and bivariate analysis using Fisher's exact test, with a statistical significance of p<0.005. Results: participants were divided into 62% female and 38% male, across four specialties. Most respondents (53%) came from socioeconomic stratum four. In the knowledge section, most participants fell into the low and medium categories, totaling 85%. About the attitudes, 37% were classified as high, and 38% correspond to the practices category, also classified as high. Conclusions: the results showed no significant relationship between the sociodemographic variables of the participants and their knowledge, attitudes, and practices.