EC Dental Science

Research Article Volume 22 Issue 12 - 2023

Readiness of Dental Students and Dentists to Screen for Domestic Violence Cases: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia

Raghad Alharbi1*, Mohammed Alghamdi2, Alyaa Ali Amer Ibrahim3, Mashaael Farshouti4, Rawan Salami5, Sara Alatiareez6, Wejdan Bajba7, Youshaa Alsabia8 and Ismail Abdouh9

1General Dentist, Ministry of Health, Albaha, Saudi Arabia
2Director of Public Health and Administrator of Primary Health Care Centers at Albaha Region, Ministry of Health, Albaha, Saudi Arabia
3General Dentist, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts, Cairo, Egypt
4General Dentist, King Fahad General Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5General Dentist, Vision College, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
6General Dentist, Taibah University Dental College and Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
7General Dentist, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
8General Dentist, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, Alumnus, Saihat, Saudi Arabia
9Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine, Department of Oral Basic and Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawara, Saudi Arabia

*Corresponding Author: Raghad Alharbi, General Dentist, Ministry of Health, Albaha, Saudi Arabia.
Received: November 11, 2023; Published: November 28, 2023



Introduction: The dental professional can be the first responder for victims of domestic violence (DV). Because a high percentage of violent and abusive injuries involve trauma to the head and neck area, dentists have a unique opportunity to identify and document abuse cases.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the readiness of dental professionals and dental students to conduct DV screening in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 284 dental students and dentists in Saudi Arabia. Readiness for domestic violence screening was measured using a shortened version of the Domestic Violence Healthcare Providers Survey (DVHPS) questionnaire.

Results: Dental professionals had a moderate level (mean = 5.64) of readiness to conduct DV screening, based on a single-item question. Dental professionals scored moderate levels on all of the DVHPS domains (Mean range 2.33-2.84). A total of 38.73% of the participants had previous training in DV screening, and 68.31% of participants believed they could assess DV in a dental setting. Participants who were non-Saudi, had previous training, or believed they could identify DV had significantly better readiness to screen DV in multiple domains of the DVHPS. Married dental professionals had significantly higher scores in the patient’s victim personality/traits and psychiatric support domains on the DVHPS.

Conclusion: Dental professionals in Saudi Arabia had a moderate level of readiness to conduct DV screening. It is important to have a health promotional campaign to educate dental students and dentists about DV screening.

 Keywords: Readiness; Dental Professionals; Domestic Violence; Screening; Dental Setting

  1. Coulthard P., et al. “Dentistry responding to domestic violence and abuse: A dental, practice-based intervention and a feasibility study for a cluster randomised trial”. British Dental Journal 11 (2022): 949-955.
  2. Doddawad VG. “Knowledge and awareness about identification of domestic violence, abuse and neglect of victim among dentists”. Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology2 (2021).
  3. Abdullah Z and John J. “Shutting our eyes to an open secret: Knowledge, attitude, and behavior of dentists regarding domestic violence in India”. Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry1 (2019): 8-13.
  4. Stubbs A and Szoeke C. “The effect of intimate partner violence on the physical health and health-related behaviors of women: A systematic review of the literature”. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse4 (2022): 1157-1172.
  5. Walker-Descartes I., et al. “Domestic violence and its effects on women, children, and families”. Pediatric Clinics2 (2021): 455-464.
  6. Bacchus LJ., et al. “Recent intimate partner violence against women and health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies”. BMJ Open7 (2018): e019995.
  7. Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Against Women: WHO Clinical and Policy Guidelines. World Health Organization (2013).
  8. Sugg N. “Intimate partner violence: Prevalence, health consequences, and intervention”. Medical Clinics3 (2015): 629-649.
  9. Loxton D., et al. “Intimate partner violence adversely impacts health over 16 years and across generations: A longitudinal cohort study”. PLoS One6 (2017): e0178138.
  10. Fowler KA., et al. “Surveillance for violent deaths—National violent death reporting system, 18 states, 2014”. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report—Surveillance Summaries2 (2018): 1-36.
  11. Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence in Australia: Continuing the National Story 2019. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019).
  12. Femi-Ajao O., et al. “Dentistry responding in domestic violence and abuse (DRiDVA) feasibility study: A qualitative evaluation of the implementation experiences of dental professionals”. BMC Oral Health1 (2023): 475.
  13. Bregulla JL., et al. “Dentists’ competence and knowledge on domestic violence and how to improve it—A review”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health7 (2022): 4361.
  14. Parish CL and Santella AJ. “A qualitative study of rapid HIV testing and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer competency in the oral health setting: Practices and attitudes of New York State dental directors”. Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry4 (2018): 333-338.
  15. Bair-Merritt MH., et al. “Primary care-based interventions for intimate partner violence: A systematic review”. American Journal of Preventive Medicine2 (2014): 188-194.
  16. O’Doherty L., et al. “Screening women for intimate partner violence in healthcare settings”. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 7 (2015): CD007007.
  17. García-Moreno C., et al. “The health-systems response to violence against women”. The Lancet9977 (2015): 1567-1579.
  18. Saleem MN., et al. “Knowledge, attitude, and practices of dental practitioners regarding domestic violence in Pakistan”. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing58 (2021): 00469580211060799.
  19. Alshouibi EN. “General dentists’ readiness and barriers in intimate partner violence screening: A cross-sectional study in Jeddah City”. BMC Oral Health 22 (2022).
  20. Hashim R and Al-Ani A. “Child physical abuse: Assessment of dental students’ attitudes and knowledge in United Arab Emirates”. European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry 14 (2013): 301-305.
  21. Sonbol HN., et al. “Knowledge, educational experiences and attitudes towards child abuse amongst Jordanian dentists”. European Journal of Dental Education1 (2012): e158-e165.
  22. van Dam BAFM., et al. “Recognizing and reporting domestic violence: Attitudes, experiences and behavior of Dutch dentists”. BMC Oral Health1 (2015): 159.
  23. Jakobsen U., et al. “Dental professionals’ experience with and handling of suspicion of child maltreatment in a small‐scale society, the Faroe Islands”. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research2 (2019): 145-150.
  24. Mythri H., et al. “Enhancing the dental professional’s responsiveness towards domestic violence: A cross-sectional study”. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research6 (2015): ZC51-ZC53.
  25. AlAlyani WS and Alshouibi EN. “Dentists awareness and action towards domestic violence patients: A cross-sectional study among dentists in Western Saudi Arabia”. Saudi Medical Journal1 (2017): 82-88.
  26. Azevedo MS., et al. “Child maltreatment: A survey of dentists in southern Brazil”. Brazilian Oral Research1 (2012): 5-11.
  27. Laud A., et al. “Child protection training, experience, and personal views of dentists in the prefecture of Attica, Greece”. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry1 (2013): 64-71.
  28. Hazar Bodrumlu E., et al. “Assessment of knowledge and attitudes of dental students in regard to child abuse in Turkey”. European Journal of Dental Education1 (2018): 40-46.
  29. Drigeard C., et al. “Educational needs in the field of detection of domestic violence and neglect: The opinion of a population of French dentists”. European Journal of Dental Education3 (2012): 156-165.
  30. Prochaska JO., et al. “The transtheoretical model and stages of change”. Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice, Edited by K Glanz, BK Rimer, and K. Viswanath, Jossey-Bass (2008): 97-121.
  31. Cluss PA., et al. “The process of change for victims of intimate partner violence: Support for a psychosocial readiness model”. Women’s Health Issues5 (2006): 262-274.
  32. Alsalman Z., et al. “Intimate partner violence: Are Saudi physicians in primary health care setting ready to identify, screening, and respond?” International Journal of Women’s Health 15 (2023): 623-633.
  33. Raja S., et al. “Teaching dental students to interact with survivors of traumatic events: Development of a two‐day module”. Journal of Dental Education1 (2015): 47-55.
  34. Buchanan C., et al. “Longitudinal curricular assessment of knowledge and awareness of intimate partner violence among first-year dental students”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 11 (2021): 6039.
  35. Mogaddam M., et al. “Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of dentists regarding child physical abuse in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia”. Child Abuse and Neglect 54 (2016): 43-56.
  36. Lemich SA., et al. “Dental hygienists’ readiness to screen for intimate partner violence in the state of Texas”. Journal of Dental Hygiene3 (2018): 47-55.
  37. Thomas JE., et al. “Knowledge and professional experiences concerning child abuse: An analysis of provider and student responses”. Pediatric Dentistry5 (2006): 438-444.
  38. Kaur H., et al. “Child abuse: Cross-sectional survey of general dentists”. Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research2 (2016): 118-123.
  39. Al-Dabaan R., et al. “Knowledge, attitudes, and experience of dentists living in Saudi Arabia toward child abuse and neglect”. Saudi Dental Journal3 (2014): 79-87.
  40. Patel N., et al. “Domestic violence education for UK and Ireland undergraduate dental students: A five‐year perspective”. Journal of Dental Education8 (2014): 1162-1166.
  41. El Tantawi M., et al. “Dentists’ intention to report suspected violence: A cross-sectional study in eight Arab countries”. BMJ Open3 (2018): e019786.

Raghad Alharbi., et al. “Readiness of Dental Students and Dentists to Screen for Domestic Violence Cases: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia”.”. EC Dental Science 22.12 (2023): 01-11.

ECronicon Journal

Our Services

Quick Links

Information

Creative Commons LicenseOpen Access by ECronicon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Based on a work at www.ecronicon.net